


Restart

by clexa4ever



Series: Second Chances [2]
Category: The 100 (TV), The 100 Series - Kass Morgan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Clexa is Endgame, Everyone Is Alive, F/F, F/M, Multi, Time Travel Fix-It
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-16
Updated: 2019-08-22
Packaged: 2019-08-24 12:18:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 74
Words: 210,872
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16639949
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/clexa4ever/pseuds/clexa4ever
Summary: After the battle of Mount Weather, it is time for our heroes to deal with the chnages and the consequences of those changes and to sail in uncharted waters as well as continuing making sure that things follow in the right path for their mission while also making things better for everyone.  Politics, fights, reconciliations, discoveries, rise to power, love, all in a day's work in the lives of our beloved heroes.





	1. Aftermath of the battle

**Author's Note:**

> Hello guys. Have you missed me? Probably not but I am sure you have missed this story and so have I. To be honest, I had plans to post it much sooner but with college and other health problems, I couldn't and for that I am sorry. The love you gave this story was amazing and I wanted to give you the second part of it much sooner but what matters is it's coming to you. Now, the thing is I would have personally preferred to have the story completely finished before I started posting but I couldn't keep you guys waiting any longer so although there is still 20 chapters left for me to write before it is finished, I will be posting however it will be one chapter per week.  
> Once I have finished, then the updates will be more frequent, I am doing it this way to give me time to finish and to give you guys some chapters. now, I will try to write as fast as I can but I will need you to bear with me for a while longer, can you do that? Thanks. as for my other story posted here, I will be posting it accompanying this one so go check that one out and yes, I know it doesn't have Clexa yet but I am setting the story up for when it does come so if you could check it out, I would appreaciate. Anyway, without further delay, here is the first chapter of the second part of my Second Chance series. I hope you enjoy and you know the drill, RESPECTFULLY comment. A lot.  
> Enjoy!!!!!!!!!!!

“Jasper,” Monty called and ran to his friend and hugged him as Clarke and Bellamy calmly walked towards them. Clarke was certainly feeling better that this time around when she saw the young boy again, he was not holding the dead body of his girlfriend and looking at her as if she was the worst monster in the world. Once they were close enough, Jasper looked at them with curiosity and a little bit of apprehension in his eyes and they could all understand why.

“And what is going on? What will happen to them now?” He asked his friends and Clarke smiled at him encouragingly.

“Well, we took the Mountain. Their leaders have been captured and will go through the grounder trial to pay for their crimes they committed against them and against us so that’s that. As for the rest of the population? Monty, speaker,” Clarke explained to Jasper and ordered the young engineer to which the boy immediately started to type on his tablet before he gave a head microphone to her. Clarke took a deep breath before putting them on and starting her speech to everyone who was inside the rooms in Quarantine.

“People of Mount Weather, this is Clarke Griffin,” She said and could see people trying to look through the glass and that was how she knew they could hear her.

“I am the leader of the Sky People and I have news for you. Your leaders have fallen, they will pay for the horrible and cruel crimes they have committed against the grounders or as you wrongly called them, the savages. What Dante, Cage and those before them did to their people for years, bleeding them and turning them into monsters doesn’t leave room for forgiveness or mercy,” Clarke said firmly and she believed that there was no saving those two.

“But there will be both for you. Commander Lexa kom Trikru has agreed to let you live here in the Mountain for now while decisions are made for a longer run situation. As a reward and as a thank you for the effort some of you put in helping us, bone marrow donation will be freely given to you so that you can experience the outside world that you dreamed off for so long. My friends and I have destroyed the missiles and mass murdering weapons that could have been used against us or the grounders but left your defense mechanism intact so you can be protected somehow,” She continued.

“Now I know some of you might blame us for what happened today and for anyone you might have lost in this battle but I ask that you don’t and just think about it. We gave your president more than enough chances for him to do the right thing, for him to let our people go so we could come to a better agreement amongst ourselves but his greed and disregard of those chances pushed our hands and we were forced to rescue our people back by any means necessary and that was by force. I hope you can understand that we mean you no harm and that all we want is to be able to live in peace,” She said before continuing.

“As soon as this moment is over, my mother, the Chief Doctor of our people will be joining us here to start the donation and transfusion. And since your leaders have fallen and we don’t trust you yet, I will be appointing a new president,” Clarke said and looked at her friends before smiling.

“Your new president will be Maya Rye for the foreseeable future until you can make a new election yourselves,” Clarke said to them and could see from the corner of her eyes Jasper’s shocked face and the smile on Monty’s and Bellamy’s faces.

“She has proven to be good, fair, loyal and trustworthy and I don’t think there is anyone more qualified to lead your people into this new and peaceful future than her. Maya, wherever you are, these people are now your responsibility. Anything you need, I will be glad to help so will Jasper, Bellamy and plenty others. Your people would not have survived this if it had not been for you so take this position and continue to make the best choices for them. For our sakes and most importantly for your own,” Clarke said firmly.

“The bodies are being removed to have a funeral, once it is done and the air is decontaminated, you will be free to leave these rooms so just hold on for a few more hours and you will be fine very, very soon. I hope that we can have a better relation than this and that we can help each other out. That is all for now. Thank you for listening and for making the right choice,” She said before pulling the thing off as Monty turned it off as well.

“Guys, can you handle this on your own now? I need to go check on the wounded. My mom must be overwhelmed,” Clarke said to the boys who nodded excitedly and she smiled.

“Okay, see you guys later,” She said and turned towards the elevator along with Bellamy who turned to her once the door was closed with a smirk on his face mirroring her own.

“Maya as president? You really like to surprise us, don’t you princess?” Bellamy said chuckling and she smiled.

“She is the only one I trust amongst the people of this place, besides Jasper can help keep them in check since he will most likely stay here with her so it solves a lot. However now, you and I need to go and help out the others,” She said to him and they laughed.

They quickly got to the upper levels and when they came out of the elevator they could see the grounders and their people carrying the bodies. “I’ll go help them,” Bellamy said and she nodded as he moved to help a grounder lift a woman’s body and carry outside as Clarke followed and came outside to see the piles of bodies, 3 of them so far. She took a look around and could see Lexa talking with her generals and she didn’t want to interrupt her girlfriend so she was about to turn back to go inside when she saw Raven coming her way.

The two girls hugged each other tightly for a good ten minutes before pulling back to look at each other. “You did it,” Clarke whispered to the mechanic and Raven chuckled.

“Of course, did you have any doubts I would? Bitch, please. Besides, the real deal is we did it. We changed this outcome at least,” Raven said to her and Clarke nodded.

“Thank God. I really didn’t want to repeat what happened as last time,” Clarke said and they chuckled just as the boys were also returning and Clarke hugged Murphy while Raven hugged Wells and then Finn and lastly Kane as did Clarke.

“So we did our part, killed the shooters. What about yours? Is it done?” Murphy asked the girls and they both nodded their heads at him.

“The Mountain has fallen and the innocent civilians are safe. The Commander has agreed to let them live inside the Mountain for now until a decision is made and we will be donating bone marrow to them,” Clarke explained and Finn and Wells looked at each other.

“Are you sure we should do that given everything they did to our friends or at least tried to do?” Finn asked her while Kane and Murphy shared a look.

“Of course, these people helped our friends, risked their own lives for them. Helping them have a better life is the right thing to do,” Raven was the one who explained it to him and Clarke nodded at her best friend.

“What about our people? What will happen with us now that this war is over?” Wells asked the blonde and she smiled at him.

“Well, I am in talks with the Commander to see if we can make this peace treaty and truce between our people a more permanent situation so when I have an answer, you guys will be the first to know,” Clarke said explaining part of her plans.

“Are you serious? You want us to what? Become one of them?” Finn asked her and she nodded at him, ignoring his surprised look.

“Soon enough. Finn, this is our people’s best chance. It would not only mean we get to have their help in understanding this world better and faster but that we also have their protection against any attack from anyone. We need this, we really do,” Clarke said to him and Murphy stepped in.

“Well, if it is worth anything, I’m with you on it all the way. If you think that the lovely grounders are the way to happily ever after land, I’m in,” He said to her and she smirked at him as did Raven.

“Me too. I trust you, Clarke. Whatever you decided, we will follow you,” Wells said to his best friend and Finn ended up agreeing with them as well and she nodded at all of them before speaking.

“Why don’t the two of you go do something useful and help with the removal of the bodies? Bellamy could use the help,” She said smiling to Wells and Finn as they nodded at her before leaving the other four behind.

“How are things really going, Clarke?” Kane asked her gently and she sighed deeply as she looked at him and at the others.

“Lexa has their leaders and they are for Trikru to deal with them as they see fit. The joining is almost a certainty. I put Maya as the new president of the Mountain Men and Bellamy and Monty knows about Lexa and I,” She said to them in one breath smiling as they smiled too.

“How did that last one happened?” Raven asked her chuckling and she smiled.

“That would be because I hugged her and kissed her in front of them,” She said to the girl and Raven chuckled out loud as the boys also smiled as Clarke continued.

“I don’t know, I guess, I’m just tired of having to pretend that I don’t love her, you know? I needed her as my girlfriend and so I said screw it,” She finished explaining and they nodded.

“Well, I, for one, am glad for both of you and for all that you guys have accomplished so far.” Kane said to her and she hugged him.

“Thanks, Kane. It means a lot and thank you for helping me do this. I don’t think I would have achieved this all on my own,” She said to him and pulled back from the hug.

“I’m happy for you too, blondie. You deserve it after everything you have been through,” Murphy said sincerely to her and she hugged him before pulling back too.

“Now, what?” Raven asked the group and Clarke was about to answer her when a boy, she believed his name was Artigas, came running to her.

“Skai Prisa, your nomon is calling for you. She said it was urgent. That she needed your help,” He said to her and she nodded at him.

“OK. I’m going. Talk to you guys later,” She said to her friends before she followed the boy back inside the Mountain and to where their MedBay was and could hear her mom’s voice as she barked orders and it sounded bad. She got in and saw the mess of bodies.

“Clarke. I need you here,” Abby called out for her daughter as soon as she saw her and the blonde looked at her mother before nodding.

“I’m on it,” Clarke said and took off her gloves and her jacket and moved to a patient. Bullet wounds on the shoulder and the leg. She went searching for what she needed and started treating him. She barked orders here and there too and went from one patient to the other. Her mom, Jackson, Pete and two more were taking care of the rest.

“This one needs surgery or else he won’t survive. Get me a room. Right now,” She heard her mom say and saw them move the grounder to the operation room. It wasn’t long before Lexa, Indra, Anya and Gustus appeared to get news on what was happening with their wounded and to be honest, she expected them to have come a little earlier to check but they must have had other things to deal with and only now had the time for an update.

“Sky Girl. How many have we lost?” Indra asked her and Clarke quickly looked at her and Lexa before refocusing on the guy she was treating and answered the question.

“We have managed to save 23 from dangerous wounds and treated 45 from minor ones. My mom has two more in surgery and we have lost 30 so far,” She said as she tried to take a look at the wound and saw it was bullet wound to the kidney.

“Hey you, just keep fighting. Don’t give up on me,” Clarke said to the man as she put on pressure on his wounds but suddenly, he stopped breathing.

“Pete. I need to remove the bullet now,” She called for the guy before she climbed on top of the stretcher and straddled the warrior and started making chest contractions.

“Come on. Come on,” She said and continued as the grounders watched what she was doing, Lexa in awe of her girlfriend. Clarke did it a few more times but nothing so she sighed and came down and looked at them. “31,” She said before sighing.

“Clarke,” Pete said calling for her go help another patient and Clarke moved away from the latest dead body to where he was and she started closing the wound the man he had been treating had on the leg.

“Those are the bodies you can take up,” Clarke said pointing at the pile of bodies on the floor in the corner, the grounders nodded.

“The pyres are almost finished,” Lexa said to her and Clarke looked at her girlfriend and nodded at the information.

“You should start the funeral. We have our hands full here, I don’t think you should wait for us,” Clarke said and the woman looked at her softly before nodding her head.

“Very well, we shall leave you to your work. Any new development, please warn us,” Lexa said to her and Clarke nodded her head.

“We will. Thank you for your concern. It means a lot to everyone. Thank you, Commander,” Clarke said sincerely and Lexa slightly bowed her head and turned to leave as the generals followed and soon warriors started taking the bodies. It was a couple of minutes later when her radio that was still attached to her belt came alive with Raven’s voice.

“I know you’re busy taking care of the patients but I thought you would like to hear it,” The mechanic said and Clarke and the others looked at the item before Lexa’s voice came through.

“For 97 years, the Mountain Men tormented us, took our loved ones from us. Mothers, fathers, daughters, sons, brothers, sisters, husbands and wives. People we cared for and loved and we could do nothing about it. But not anymore. With the help of the Sky People and of some of the Mountain Men who refused to go along with their cruelty and choose to put their lives at risk to help us, we were able to defeat them, once and for all and no more do we need to fear this mountain or its people. Tonight, with fire, we cleanse the pain of the past,” Lexa finished her speech and Clarke could only imagine that the noises she was hearing was from the pyres being lit and she sighed in relief.

It had taken a lot from everyone but especially for the 5 of them who have returned from the future but they changed the outcome of one of Clarke’s worst memories and things have turned out for the best and despite the deaths that inevitably happened, she was happy that no genocide was committed and that things were looking very good in relation to the dynamics between the Arkers and the Grounders. She needed things to be well between them so that nor Pike nor anyone could disrupt the future she has planned for her and Lexa and their people together, working and living in harmony.

“Everyone that gave up their lives in this battle will be remembered and honored as heroes who helped us get rid of the fear of the Mountain once and for all. I thank every one of them and the Sky People for helping us deliver justice for all those we lost and risked losing had they not been defeated. Today is the start of a new era. One that is not based on fear and inexplicable losses, instead it’s based on unity and friendship. Today we are free,” Lexa spoke and the people cheered on what she was saying.

“She can rock a crowd better than you and Bellamy combined, can’t she?” Raven said through the radio and Clarke smiled before picking it up to answer.

“Yeah, that is how good she is at what she does. Lexa is an example for me,” Clarke said and Raven knew as well that there were ears listening to their conversation so whatever she truly wanted to say about how she felt about Lexa would have to wait until they were face to face. For now, she said pleasant things since things between them were still a secret amongst the majority of her people and all of Lexa’s. They still needed to be careful and Clarke would be.

“You’re still working in MedBay?” Raven asked her and Clarke sighed.

“Yeah, there are still a lot of patients and we still ne

need to monitors the one who are still at risk so yeah, I don’t think I will be getting out of here anytime soon so can you and Kane handle things over there?” Clarke asked and waited for the answer.

“Of course, you know we got your back, Griffin. Always,” Raven said to her and Clarke smiled even if the girl could not see it.

“I know and thanks, Ray. I don’t know what I would do without you,” She said grateful to the mechanic for always being there for her when she needed.

“Oh don’t get mushy on me now, Griffin. And to answer your indirect question, you would be dead ten times over, so you’re welcome,” Raven said chuckling and Clarke laughed as well.

“Raven, can you do me a favor?” Clarke said and the girl answered.

“Shoot,” She said and Clarke smiled.

“Never change. Stay the same Raven,” Clarke said and only heard the girl’s laugh and she smiled as well. If there was one thing she was glad was to have Raven as a friend.

“You got yourself a deal, Griffster,” Raven said to her and Clarke chuckled.

“I gotta go. Talk to you later. Love you,” Clarke said before she went back to work and help her mother and the other patients who were counting on her to save their lives. Whatever happens now, Clarke would at least rejoice in this victory of today. They did good here. They did good. She was proud of them and more importantly, she was finally proud of herself and that was already a huge victory in and out of itself.


	2. Sweet Relief

After a couple more of hours, Clarke was finally done helping her mom with the wounded patients in the medical sector of the Mountain and she was super tired. She had gone straight from fighting to stitching up all kinds of wounds, she even had to amputate a man’s leg to make sure he survived and now, she was covered in blood and all kinds of body fluids but at least, she helped save as many people as she possibly could and that was enough to make all the tiredness worthwhile. After all, that was one of the reasons why she came back to the past. To save people as best as she could.

It wasn’t long after Lexa’s speech that Monty decontaminated the air and the people of the Mountain was let out of Quarantine. There were still warriors and guards around to make sure that everyone was safe on both sides but from what Raven said later, when she came to update Clarke on what was going on, they seemed to have accepted her choice for President and also that Maya would like to talk to her later to discuss the conditions on which her people has to live by now and she told Raven to let her know that she would see her as soon as she talked to Lexa to discuss between them a solution first.

She walked through the halls and could see the people returning to their dorms and when she got close to level 5, she stopped at the entrance to see Maya giving them the new directions of their dorm. Clarke smiled. Killing Maya before hit her hard, especially with how she broke Jasper by doing it and after losing Lexa, she had to agree with what he felt. Of course, she didn’t rebel against everything and everyone but the feeling of emptiness, of losing a part of yourself along with that person, that she experienced and she refused to let either one of them experience such a pain ever again.

She kept on walking thinking about that until she came outside and went to the horse designated to her and along with Ryder, her bodyguard, they went back to the camp they had settled away from the place and she went straight to what she recognized as Lexa’s tent thanks to the exaggerated size of it and after greeting the warriors standing guard outside, she went in without any of them trying to stop her or question her and  she searched for Lexa, finding her by the bed already sleeping and Clarke could only smile at the sight.

She walked silently to the bed and sat down by it and then, ran her hand on the brunette’s face, caressing her cheek as she was reminded of everything they have been through these last two months, what they went through in the past and what they will go through in the months yet to come but she knew that as long she had her girlfriend, correction, her fiancée by her side, she would face anything and anyone head on.

Clarke could not help but think of everything she went through after she lost the sleeping girl. She didn’t even need to close her eyes to remember the pain and the scene of Lexa drawing her last breath and the fact that not a month later, Niylah was in her bed made Clarke feel disgusted with herself. She knew that the girl was just an scapegoat for the pain but even so, she disrespected Lexa and her memory and she really felt bad about it but the only thing she could do now was to make sure that none of it never happened again and it wouldn’t.

Clarke watched her sleep for a few more minutes and continued to caress her face and hair as the girl stirred and started to wake up. “Hey,” Clarke said as the older girl opened her green eyes and looked at her.

“You’re finally back. What time is it?” She asked trying to get up from bed but Clarke pushed her back down before speaking to her.

“I finished helping the wounded and came straight here. And as for the time, we have a few hours before the sun comes up so relax. You need to sleep Lexa,” Clarke said seriously and Lexa sighed before relaxing.

“You must be tired, especially if you traveled back here by horse,” She said to Clarke who nodded chuckling.

“I’m so tired and also very much covered in blood,” She said as Lexa looked at her clothes and saw that it was true which made her sit up on bed.

“Then, come on,” She said getting up and pulling Clarke along with her to another section of her tent where there was a bathtub filled with water.

“Why don’t you take a nice bath on the tub and I will get you some clean clothes to change into?” Lexa said to her and Clarke nodded smiling at the girl.

“Please. You know, I might just have fallen more with love with you simply because you have one of these here,” She said giving Lexa a kiss before she started removing her clothes until she was naked and entered the tub.

“I will be right back,” Lexa said before leaving her to wash the dirt off of her. Clarke then lowered herself down under water for a couple of seconds before coming back up and washing her hair and her face before moving to her body until she was completely clean and just stayed there before Lexa came back with clothes and sat by the tub, near her.

“You look beautiful,” Lexa said while admiring the blonde in the tub and Clarke smiled at her girlfriend for the compliment.

“No, I don’t. I look like a mess but I appreciate the lie, babe,” She said chuckling and Lexa shook her head at her smiling as well.

“I didn’t say you weren’t a mess. I said you look beautiful, even if you look like mess,” She said and Clarke smiled sweetly before holding out her hand that Lexa gladly took on her own and seemed to be thinking about something before she finally spoke.

“Can I ask you a question?” Clarke asked and Lexa nodded before she spoke again, “If Emerson had presented the deal to you again, you would have taken it, wouldn’t you?” Clarke asked her and Lexa sighed, she had an idea this would come up at some point.

“If we found ourselves in the same situation where the deal was presented to me before with my people ready to be slaughtered while we waited for the door to be opened, then yes, I would have no choice but to take it once more however unlike before, I would have returned to help you as soon as possible, if it makes that any better,” She said apologetically and Clarke smiled.

“It does. Besides, now I can understand why you did it and why you would do it again. I was just curious, not accusing so relax. You’re not in any trouble because of it and I appreciate you not lying about it,” Clarke said to her but Lexa was still a little tense and Clarke could see that.

“Baby, I swear to you I’m not angry. I was angry before, in our time, because I didn’t want understand. I couldn’t even let myself think about it, to be honest,” Clarke said to her and Lexa frowned.

“Why not?” Lexa asked her and Clarke smiled at the girl she loved more than anything.

“Because I knew that the moment I let myself think, really think about it, I knew I would have understood what you did and would have forgiven you and I was not ready to do that. I needed to hold onto the anger I felt for you so I could forget the anger I felt for myself.” Clarke said and Lexa nodded.

“I’m very glad I could help you that way even from afar,” Lexa said to her and Clarke smiled playing with her fingers.

“You did but when we saw each other again, I was really unfair to you,” Clarke said and Lexa shook her head and started to speak but Clarke didn’t let her and continued speaking.

“No, baby, I was. I love that you want to defend me but you shouldn’t, not on this anyway. I was horrible to you and you were only the best to me and I will forever be sorry for that. I mean, you bowed to me even though you don’t bow to anyone. That was one of the most beautiful things someone ever did for me and the very next day, I treated like it was nothing and I want you to know that it wasn’t nothing. It was beautiful and I don’t have words to thank you for that,” Clarke said to her and Lexa smiled kissing her hand.

“There is no need to thank me. I did what my heart asked me to do and I don’t regret it. If there is one person I gladly bow to, that person is you. Always,” Lexa said to her and Clarke looked at her before shaking her head.

“I want you to know that I know how I am the luckiest girl in the world to have you and to have your love,” She said sincerely and Lexa smiled shaking her head.

“We are lucky to have each other.” Lexa said truthfully and Clarke nodded.

“So now that the Mountain is gone, when can we get married?” Clarke asked her and Lexa looked at her and smiled.

“Whenever you want but I would strongly argue that you at least tell your family and friends before we do it.” She said jokingly at her and Clarke nodded.

“Of course. My friends, I was thinking about telling them at the celebration of the Mountain’s defeat. Not that we are getting married but that we are together and I was thinking that you could come with us to Arkadia one day and we could have a family dinner so you could officially meet my parents and my sister. What do you say?” Clarke asked her and Lexa smiled.

“I would love too. But who is this sister? I don’t remember you having one before.” Lexa asked and Clarke smiled.

“That’s because I didn’t but I’ll tell you about her now if you want,” Clarke said to her and Lexa nodded her head, paying attention to the blonde.

“Charlotte was the youngest of the 100. In our timeline, she had lost her parents and became a little crazy. Bellamy and I took a liking to her and one day, she was having nightmare about her parents’ death when he advised her to slay her demons so she could sleep. She took it in the literal way. Her demons were in reality just one, Jaha, so since she couldn’t slay him, she went after the next best thing, his son and my best friend, Wells. She killed him with a knife that belonged to Murphy so when we found the knife, I accused him and the others decided to hang him and just as he was about to die, she confessed and he started chasing her for it,”

“Finn and I took her away to find a solution but Murphy and his pals caught up with us as did Bellamy who was helping us. We came to stand in front of a cliff and when Murphy held a knife to my throat, Charlotte decided to jump so no one else would get hurt because of her. Bellamy lost it on Murphy and we banished him. He was then captured by your people and used to deliver a virus before the battle and he got into a fight with Bellamy and ended up shooting Raven, hence her leg became the way it did last time,” Clarke finished telling and Lexa sighed.

“That is quite the story. So Murphy was bad before, at the beginning when you and the other 100 first fell down her?” Lexa asked her and Clarke shook her head.

“He wasn’t bad, an idiot yes but her death was as much his fault as it was mine’s and Bellamy’s. I accused him of something he didn’t do and Bellamy was the one to kick the stoop from under his feet. He just wanted revenge on us and I can’t say I blame him for it. Not anymore,” Clarke said to her and Lexa nodded.

“He has changed for the better, that much was evident when he helped you after Titus shot me and ever since,” Lexa said to her and Clarke agreed.

“He has. I trust him more now than I trusted Bellamy before and that is saying a lot,” Clarke said and Lexa nodded. It was true.

“Anyway back to the story, I wanted to change that outcome so when I got back on the Ark, I reached out to Charlotte before she lost her parents and made friends with her and dragged her to make friends with Raven, Murphy, Wells and my parents so she became part of the family. We were all there for her when she lost her parents and although she hates Jaha, she loves Wells so she would never hurt him and recently, I offered her some incentive to ask my parents if they would like to adopt her to which they obviously said yes, so now she is officially a Griffin,” Clarke finished telling Lexa the story.

“Well, I hope she likes me.” Lexa said to her girlfriend and Clarke smiled.

“She will, they all will. I just know it.” Clarke said to her and Lexa nodded before the blonde continued, “So be honest, we will have to wait a while to get married, won’t we?” Clarke asked her and Lexa smiled.

“Yes, we will have to wait but not for long, I guarantee you that,” Lexa said to her and the blonde smiled at her girlfriend squeezing her hand.

“I hope not. I can’t wait for the day where I can finally call you my wife.” She said and they chuckled.

“Me too. It will be a dream come true,” Lexa said before kissing Clarke before she spoke again, “I will let you finish your bath. I will be waiting for you in our bed, okay?” Lexa said to her and Clarke nodded her head.

“Okay, I won’t take long. I promise. I will just finish here and be right out,” Clarke said to the brunette and Lexa only smiled at her.

“Good. You know I don’t like sleeping without you,” Lexa said to her and Clarke smiled. It was true. Ever since, they had the chance of sleeping all night long in each other’s arms, neither one of them liked the idea of sleeping alone again.

“I will be right out Heda. Now go,” Clarke said chuckling before Lexa stood up and pecked Clarke’s lips before turning around and leaving the tent.

Clarke could only watch her fiancée leave and she sighed resting her head on the tub. She could not believe she was so lucky as to have someone like Lexa, she was telling the truth when she said she can’t wait for them to get married and maybe one day, start their own family. She smiled thinking about it before she went back to finishing her bath.

For Lexa, being like this with Clarke, was everything she had ever wanted since the moment she had kissed the blonde girl in her tent before the battle of Mount Weather. She had known of the intensity of her feelings for the blonde at that moment and since then, her desire and love for the sky girl only grew, even with the distance and the hate Clarke had for her. She had spent the three months wondering where the blonde was, if she was well fed, if she had somewhere to sleep at night, if she was safe, if she was being haunted and desperately wanting to be able to help the girl who had stolen her heart.

But unfortunately she couldn’t, so she would settle to dream about having the girl in her arms, hearing her voice, seeing her face, her smile, smelling her scent and just being together and happy and those were the worst nightmares because she would always wake up to an empty bed and with the knowledge that she would never get to have that since Clarke hated her guts and would probably rather want to see her dead than to ever let her get close again and it was  a kind of sweet torture that she had never experienced before.

She attributed that to the fact that Clarke was the love of her life, that she was without a doubt the other half of her soul and the love she felt was stronger and more intense than anything she had ever felt before for anyone, Costia included. So now to sit back on her bed and know that Clarke not only loves her and wants to be with her, but that she is also as eager to start their life together as Lexa is, that is everything she had dared to dream of and she couldn’t believe it was her reality. She couldn’t shake off the silly smile she had on her face thinking about it.

Clarke wanted to be her wife, wanted to be with her until the day she died and Lexa couldn’t remember a time where she was happier than she has been ever since the blonde came into her life a second time. Lexa was lost in thought when her guard called to her and told her that Anya was outside. Lexa ordered the woman to come in and soon enough, Anya entered her tent.

“Anya, I was not expecting you,” Lexa said not getting up from the bed and the woman nodded at her.

“Yeah, I know but I came to talk to you about something important,” She said to her commander and Lexa nodded.

“What are you going to do about the people in the Mountain?” Anya asked her and Lexa sighed shaking her head.

“I still don’t know, Anya. I have to talk to Clarke and the new President about it before I can make a definite decision. Why?” Lexa asked her and the woman sighed.

“Titus has sent a message to you to come to Polis as soon as possible. He says there is much for you to do there and that he suggests that the people in the Mountains be exiled from your lands or worse. He sounded as angry as usual,” Anya said and Lexa froze a little being the first time she has even spoken about the man in question since regaining her memories to anyone that wasn’t Clarke.

“Titus is always like that, Anya and if it was up to him, I would never leave Polis for anything so I wouldn’t be too worried about his rant,” Lexa said dismissively but Anya shook her head.

“I know you always deflect when I say this and I understand why but Lexa, I do not trust that man. You may think he has your best interest at heart but I don’t. I don’t know how far he is capable of going to ensure things go according to what he believes is the right way and since you are not always the best follower of tradition, I worry that one of these days you will be at odds and he will be a danger to you,” Anya said to her and Lexa was shocked about her words but then she remembered.

Ever since she first took command, Anya never liked Titus while Indra and Gustus barely tolerated him. She had always tried to warn Lexa about trusting him as much as she did and Lexa always dismissed her telling her that Titus was trustworthy, but after witnessing firsthand what his beliefs could drive him to do, Lexa could see that she should have listened to Anya earlier on and maybe things would have been different and she may not even have died but she hadn’t. It didn’t mean she wouldn’t now.

“I know how you feel and I have started to see what you say about him and believe me, I will be more careful with how much power and liberty I give to him but I can’t do anything about that now. I have so much to work out here before I can go back to Polis and Titus will have to accept my orders and just deal with it. Now, I appreciate your concern and I guarantee you, I will be more careful around him but don’t do anything. Let me handle him as I see fit. Like you said, he could be dangerous but he is still the Flamekeeper, only I can dispose of him if need be,” Lexa explained to her and Anya nodded.

“I know, I just worry about you,” Anya said to her and Lexa gave her a small smile. She knew that the bond they have was strong even if they didn’t say it.

“I know and I care for you too but let me handle Titus. It’s my fight so I will have to do it however, I will listen to your advices. In the meantime, send word for him that I will be staying here for as long as I am needed and will warn him when I have chosen to return to Polis,” Lexa said and Anya nodded.

“Very well, I will do that right now. Goodnight, Lexa,” She said bowing down and Lexa nodded at her once the woman straightened up again.

“Good night Anya,” She said before the general turned around and left and Lexa sat back on her bed and started thinking about everything regarding the older man while she waited for Clarke to come out of her bath. She needed to talk to her about it. After all, he was as much as her problem as he was Clarke’s and she valued the blonde’s opinions on things. Clarke could see things and ways that sometimes she couldn’t so she wanted to have this conversation with the girl as soon as possible so she continued to wait.


	3. What has passed can pass again

After finishing her bath, which took 15 more minutes to end, Clarke finally got out of the bath tub, dried herself before putting on the clothes Lexa had brought for her and when she was finally done, she walked out of the bath part of the tent and into the sleeping part of it, where Lexa was already lying down in bed with her eyes closed, which made Clarke think she was already asleep but then, she opened her eyes when Clarke entered the room and followed her movements with her stare, which low-key turned Clarke on.

“I thought you were already asleep with how much longer I took to come out,” Clarke said to her as she took care of her clothes and stuff.

“No, I had much on my mind to fall asleep that easily and you didn’t take too long,” Lexa said to her still staring at her and Clarke looked back at her.

“What were you thinking about that wouldn’t let you sleep?” Clarke asked her as she finished folding in her clothes and moved towards the cot.

“Titus,” Lexa said turning to lie on her back as Clarke got on bed with her and snuggled against her side, letting her head rest on top of Lexa’s chest with her ear directly above the girl’s heart so she could hear the heartbeats and draped her left arm over the older girl’s waist.

“What about him?” Clarke asked her and Lexa sighed as her arm wrapped around Clarke as well, needing to feel that the girl was there with her, and safe above all else.

“Anya came while you were in the bath to warn me that he wanted me back in Polis and you know. She just reminded me not to trust him for all of the reasons we already know and it was just a lot,” Lexa said sighing and Clarke could understand how she was feeling. Being betrayed by those you trust the most it’s the worst feeling ever. It breaks something within you and it is hard to put it back together. She listened while Lexa continued speaking,

“Last time I saw him, he was my most trusted advisor and now, when I return, all I will see when I look at him is the man who tried to kill you and that actually killed me,” She said with a quiver in her voice and Clarke only hugged her tighter as Lexa continued.

“I feel like I lost him. Even if in this time, he does nothing like that again, I don’t think I will ever be able to fully trust him as I did before. There will always be a seed of doubt in my mind when it comes to him and his motives to do what he does and I don’t want that, Clarke. I really don’t,” Lexa confided in her and Clarke sighed feeling her girlfriend’s pain and wishing she could take it away.

“I won’t tell you that you should give him a second chance because I am selfish and I would very much like to get him as far away from you as possible but I can’t also ignore that if I can give Finn and Bellamy a second chance, maybe you could give him one too,” Clarke said as Lexa kissed her forehead.

“That is different, Clarke. Finn and Bellamy acted on a whim. They were angry and desperate and had a gun in their hands, it doesn’t excuse their action in the slightest and I am not more prone to trust them now than I did back then but, Titus tried to have you removed from my life deliberately,” Lexa said as she caressed the blonde’s hair as she continued speaking.

“More than once, he tried to get you as far away from me as possible and when that didn’t work, he took the matter into his own hands and I have no doubt that if he had succeeded in killing you and incriminating the Sky people, he would have played me like a fool, inciting me to go to war. He wouldn’t have felt guilty for taking away from me someone I loved. He would have been fine with it and when you come to Polis with me, I can’t be sure he won’t try anything like that again or even that he will come up with something else that I will not be prepared to protect you from,” Lexa said to her and Clarke lifted herself up to look at the girl.

“You think that even if my people didn’t do anything like the massacre again, he would still come for me and try to kill me or at least get me away from you? He would do something like that even without those reasons?” Clarke asked her and Lexa nodded.

“Despite what he portrayed his motives were, yes, I do think so. Costia was never involved in the politics of the Coalition whatsoever, in fact she hated it, she would forbid me to talk about it when we were alone, she was no threat to my political agenda and yet, Titus despised her, less than he did and will do with you but he disliked her nonetheless,” Lexa explained to her and Clarke was still confused.

“So his problem is really with whoever you chose to share your bed with?” Clarke asked her and Lexa shook her head in negative.

“Not who I choose to share my bed, but who I choose to give my heart to,” Lexa explained to her and Clarke seemed to finally understand his problem.

“You and Costia were the embodiment of everything that went against his teachings that love was weakness and that to be Commander is to be alone. You both were proof that that was wrong. Even when Costia died and I tried to make myself believe in that again, I never truly did. Because I had never felt weak with her, it was much the opposite, I felt strong and with you. Not only did you make me feel the strongest but your ability to lead showed me that my oath didn’t have to be mine alone. That I could have someone not only to share my burdens with but who could understand them as I did and would be there to help me day in and day out,” Lexa said to her and Clarke smiled lovingly at her.

“I love you,” Clarke said to her before kissing the brunette who only tightened her arms around the blonde pulling her even closer. Once Clarke pulled back and lay down again in her previous position, Lexa spoke.

“I love you too so much. That is what Titus disliked about her and hated about you. In your case, everything your people did just gave him a better motive to use to defend his mistrust of you and your proximity with me. But no matter his reasons, the fact remains that I don’t trust him to be anywhere around you, to have access to you and since I am not giving up on you, I have to get rid of him,” Lexa said to her and Clarke stilled before sitting up and turning to Lexa.

“You mean you’re going to have to kill him? There is no other way to get rid of him beside that?” Clarke asked her seriously and Lexa sighed sitting up too and facing Clarke.

“Much like a Commander, a Flame keeper can only be replaced if the previous one is dead which is why Gaia came to take over once he died,” Lexa explained and Clarke shook her head.

“Lexa, he may be a selfish, ambitious and morally disturbed man who thinks he knows everything and who thinks he can control you, but he raised you and even if you try to deny, I know you love him. You have forgiven him for what he has done. I know, I saw in your eyes when you were speaking to him when you were dying,” Clarke said to her and Lexa sighed.

“I know he raised me Clarke, and I won’t deny that I love him as one would love a father but I also know him better than anyone so believe me when I say he won’t change. He won’t be accepting of you, of us. For as long as he thinks you are a weakness to me, he won’t stop trying to get us apart, even if it is filling up my schedule to work all day just to keep me away from you, he will do it. I have to be honest and say that after my time in the Valley which I spent thinking and reviving memories I had buried, I’m not entirely sure he didn’t have a hand in what happened with Costia,” Lexa said to her and Clarke’s eyes were wide.

“You don’t think he worked with the Ice Nation to torture and kill her, do you? He knew how much you lover her. He couldn’t have done that. Could he?” Clarke asked softly but also worriedly and Lexa just looked at her not knowing how to answer that question.

“When Costia was kidnapped, earlier that day, he had given me a urgent message saying that there was a huge problem in one of the villages and that I was needed there immediately so I trusted him, packed a few things and left for the village which was dealing with wolves attacking them and they told me that they had sent for me about a week before,” Lexa explained to her girlfriend before she continued.

“The day after I left at night, Costia was kidnapped from my room in the tower. Now, don’t you think that is slightly concerning that he kept a urgent message from me for a week only to deliver on that precise day and that Costia was kidnapped not a day after I left?” Lexa asked her and Clarke seemed to get why she could think that.

“I don’t know if he had an agreement with the Queen or not, but one thing is clear to me, always had been. Someone facilitated the assassins’ entrance to the tower that night. I made an inquiry of every guard that was on duty but it never crossed my mind he could have been the one that did it,” Lexa said to her and Clarke nodded.

“I understand why you could think that he would do something like this, especially after what he tried to do to me but I don’t want to believe he would be like that to you. He seemed to care for you so much and feel so bad after he shot you and you seemed to have forgiven him when you were bleeding out,” Clarke said to her.

“And as far as forgiveness goes, I did forgive him for killing me. I know that was the last thing he wanted and even now, I know I am safe with him. But I cannot, I will not forgive him for trying to kill you. Ever. There was nothing he could have done to me, physically or emotionally, that would have been worse than to have entered that room, only for me to see your lifeless body on the ground. He might have believed that just like I came back from my grief over Costia’s death, that I would do so with your death as well but he would have be incredibly wrong. If Costia’s death broke something within me, your death would have completely and irreparably destroyed me and I would not have come back from that,” Lexa said sincerely as she caressed Clarke’s face.

“You are the love of my life, Clarke. I have never loved anyone more than I love you and I know that I never will,” Lexa said to her and Clarke smiled as she turned and planted a kiss on the plan of her hand.

“I feel the same way about you, baby and I lost you and it did destroy me even if I didn’t let people notice so much but the pain was there, suffocating each time someone mentioned you,” Clarke said to her and she meant it.

“I know and I am so sorry for that. But if nothing else, Titus was right about this one thing though,” Lexa said seriously to the girl.

“What is that?” Clarke asked her girlfriend confused about what could that man had been possibly right about.

“If he had succeeded in killing you and framing Murphy, if I had thought for one second that the Skaikru had anything to do with your death, I would have marched on Arkadia and would have killed everyone that crossed my path. Even if I relinquished my claim to the flame or even my life after it, but I would have wiped them out from existence before that. Children, elders, innocent. It wouldn’t have mattered to me. Anyone within Arkadia’s walls would have died, by my blade if possible,” Lexa said seriously and Clarke nodded.

“I know. And he knew that as well which is why he came up with that plan in the first place. He knows you and knew my death would instigate you to do what he wanted you to do in the first place which was declare war on my people,” Clarke said as a matter of fact.

She had known the moment Titus explained his plan to her that if he killed her, waging war was exactly what Lexa would have done to the Skaikru. She would have been blinded by the pain of losing her and even if she died on the battle or lived to be plagued by what she had done and for Clarke’s death, she would have wiped Clarke’s people out, there was no question in that and Clarke couldn’t really blame her. She wasn’t sure that if he had been Pike who killed Lexa that she would seek revenge herself.

“I can’t lose you, not again, not ever. This is a second chance for the both of us of having what we had hoped we could one day and I won’t let anyone come in between that, no matter who it is. So if my choice is between your safety and his, there is no choice to be made at all. I chose you. Always,” Lexa said to her and Clarke nodded.

“I hope it doesn’t have to come to that but how you deal with him best, I will leave it up to you. I will support you in whatever you decided. But for now, I really don’t want to talk about bald men who want to kill me, do you?” Clarke said and asked as she got into a crawling stance and advance towards Lexa who only smirked and let herself be pushed back to the bed.

“Well, in that case, we can always talk about something else,” Lexa said as Clarke lowered herself dangerously close to the brunette’s ear and spoke in a very sexy voice.

“We don’t have to talk at all,” Lexa chuckled since she remembered the last time she said the same thing as Clarke started kissing her neck and Lexa just closed her eyes, enjoying what Clarke was doing to her.

“ _I love you so much_ ,” Clarke said against her skin in Trigedasleng and Lexa just couldn’t take it anymore, not with the blonde speaking in her mother thongue so she sat up with Clarke straddling her lap.

“ _I love you more than it is possible to love someone and I always will,_ ” Lexa replied as Clarke held her face with both of her hands and smiled before leaning down to kiss her.

It was slow, there was no hurry, they were just kissing and Lexa lifted just a little bit of Clarke’s shirt just enough to get her hands underneath and around the blonde’s waist, as they continue to kiss gently before Clarke slowly lifted Lexa’s shirt above her head and the brunette did the same with hers and they were both bare from the waist up. Lexa then got a good grip on Clarke’s waist and lifted her up a little before putting her down on the bed on her back as the Commander settled in between her legs.

And for a moment, they just looked at each other’s eyes, talking, sharing and with love being shown through their eyes and actions, before something primal started up inside both of them and they were filled with lust and desire, as they both met in a heated kiss, those where you don’t know where one ends and the other begins. Having sex with Lexa was a unique, one and only kind of experience in and out of itself. She was gentle and rough at the same time, in the same touch. She could give everything and make Clarke crave for more with the same kiss. Lexa was intoxicating, she was a deep ocean and Clarke would be thankful to drown on her.

The sex was amazing and Clarke knew she would never want anyone else to touch like this, just Lexa. Once they both reached the climax for the fourth time in a row, Lexa finally fell down on the bed, panting and sweaty, as was Clarke.

“Babe?” Clarke called out for the girl and Lexa turned to look at her.

“Yes my love?” She asked her and Clarke turned around to lay on her belly with her head propped up on her hand as she cleared and strand of hair that was on Lexa’s face.

“In the future, not now obviously, but in the future when we are married, will it be possible for us to have a family? Kids?” Clarke asked a little bit nervous and Lexa noticed it.

“Why are you nervous to ask me that?” Lexa asked with a smile and Clarke took a deep breath before she just shrugged as she dropped her hands to trace patterns over Lexa’s chest.

“I don’t know. It’s not an easy topic to talk about, people don’t usually talk about it so early in a relationship and with you being the Commander, I didn’t know if you even considered it to be an option,” Clarke answered honestly. That was one of the many things she loved about being with Lexa, they never lied to each other.

No matter how harsh the truth was or even if the other was going to get pissed off, they were always honest with each other. Especially for Clarke, with Lexa, she was never afraid to voice out her darkest thoughts or spill out her darkest secret or even let the brunette girl see the darkest corners of her soul because she knew that Lexa would not judge her for it but rather would understand and offer comfort even if she shouldn’t. And she hoped that she could give the same feeling of security to Lexa, to make her feel that no matter what, she will be understood and that even if Clarke gets angry or pissed, she will always be there for her if needed for comfort, for a good yell or to serve as a distraction.

“Well, to answer your question, yes, I would like us to have kids in the future when I have peace better secured than right now. I would love to and you should know by now that I don’t scare easily besides wanting to share a life with me and have children with me could only make me love you even more and never the opposite,” Lexa said to her and Clarke smiled.

“And yes, as Commander, things are slightly different and more dangerous but I told you once, I want it all with you and if you want 10 kids, then I want 10 kids too,” Lexa said sincerely and Clarke smiled. Clarke smirked before she moved to straddle Lexa again, and the brunette chuckled as she looked up at her girlfriend’s naked body on top of hers.

“Clarke, I am worn out,” Lexa said chuckling and Clarke shushed her with a kiss, as she titled her head and deepened the kiss before she pulled back and looked at her girlfriend.

“Just let me love you,” Clarke said and Lexa smiled before nodding at her.

“Always,” Lexa said sincerely and Clarke smiled before she started trailing kisses down her body and it was safe to say that their night was a very pleasant one.


	4. Moment to talk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, it has been a while since I posted, I know. I was just finishing my final exams of the semester so it was quite busy for me but not anymore. Now, it is vacation time and that means lots and lots of writing. I am close to finishing the last chapters of this story and will soon be starting to write part III of this story which will be filled with lots of exciting stuff for our beloved group and most of all, our almighty couple, Clexa. So, now that college has been dealt with, I will be uploading more frequently. The uploads will be done on Monday,Wednesday and Friday so the next one will be on Monday. Stay tuned.   
> Now, I would like to thank everyone that has been reading this secodn part to the story and to tahnk everyone who commented on it. Thank you all so much, it means a lot to me to read your thoughts on the story. I love it.  
> and without further ado, here is the 4th chapter of this story. Hope you guys like it and comment a lot guys. Respectfully.

Meanwhile, Raven and Murphy were on the camp as well. They had come earlier than Clarke, along with Lexa and her people and they were both given a tent to stay along with Kane but since the man was still in the Mountain overlooking things, making sure than no unnecessary harm came to anyone, the two best friends were alone, each one in a bed, both of them looking up at the ceiling, thinking about the events that happened this time as well as the one that happened last time, especially Raven who had been there for both occasions.

“We did it. We really won against the Mountain and saved almost everyone from death,” Raven said out loud amazed by what they had been able to change and Murphy hummed in agreement to what she said.

“Yeah, it seems we did, despite everything, we were able to change things for the better,” He said to her before he turned to look at the mechanic, “Hey, ugly face. How bad was it last time?” he asked her in curiosity and she sighed.

“For Clarke, specifically or for all of us, in general?” Raven asked him not sure which one he was talking about, even though both of the cases were extremely heartbreaking tales to talk about and, even more so to remember.

“Both, I guess. I don’t know much about what happened with either. I just know what I’ve heard from a few people I met,” He said to her and she nodded her head before starting the tale of the horrors they lived last time inside that place.

“Well, in general, it sucked. We were captured and brought inside the Mountain by Cage, who decided to drill us of our bone marrow on the spot with every one of our people watching. There was someone else on the table but then, he decided to change it and he chose me to go next and it hurt like hell,” She explained before she continued.

“I mean, it was horrible and I was in so much pain, especially given the problem I already had on my leg but then, he took me out of the bed and put Abby in the table and started drilling on her and we were all scared out of our seats but then suddenly the guards started to feel the effect of the air and blisters started appearing in their faces and hands and, soon they were all dead right in front of us,” Raven explained as she recalled the events.

“Then we walked out of there and saw that everyone was dead but we wanted to leave so badly that we just moved past the bodies and when we got to Arkadia, we were just trying to move past those horrors. It wasn’t easy or quick. It took us a long while before we were back on our feet but Jasper. Jasper was never the same and he rejected Monty’s friendship, always drinking. It was bad for all of us but we would go through each day together. I think that the unity we accomplished was the best part of it,” Raven said as he nodded.

“What about Clarke? Where was she in all of this? If she was the one who killed his girlfriend, I doubt Jasper was happy with her,” Murphy asked her and Raven took a deep breath before she let out a sigh and continued speaking.

“Clarke was a mess. It was obvious when she did what she did, that a part of her had died along with those people. It was bad, she was destroyed and you could see it in her eyes, which was why I wasn’t surprised when she left. She couldn’t have stayed, John. If she had, she would have either gone crazy or Jasper would have made her life a living hell. They were broken by what happened for different reasons, obviously and they needed space from each other. That was obvious for me, at least,” Raven said to him and he nodded.

“What about Bell boy? How did he take it when she left? He couldn’t have been that understanding about the situation. He would have been more on the track of silently resentment,” He asked her and she sighed nodding her head.

“I think from all of us, he took it the hardest given how close they were and the fact that they did it together but he was really hurt by it and kept it to himself, only exploding after Pike arrived and corrupted him against the grounder and all of that,” Raven said to him and Murphy nodded.

“And when exactly did you decide to take Jaha’s chip? Or better yet, why did you decide to take it? I can’t imagine you would have followed that piece of shit anywhere for whatever reason so I’m really curious about it,” Murphy asked her and she sighed.

“The pain after being drilled for my bone marrow made the pain on my leg even worse and I was too proud to admit it to anyone. I didn’t want to acknowledge that I had a handicap, that I wasn’t the same person I once was, that I couldn’t do the same things I could before the bullet, that I was, for better or for worse, a cripple. So whenever Abby tried to talk to me about it, I would just shrug her off. She told me that with the technology of the Mountain she could maybe make it a lot better but I was too scared and when it blew up, so did any chance I had. That was when Jaha came to Arkadia with the chip.” Raven said to him.

“I really am sorry about that, Raven. I was a douchebag and not doing that to you is one of the things I am glad I was able to avoid this time around. I may have not looked like it but I did always felt guilty about shooting you,” Murphy said sincerely and Raven shook her head.

“You already apologized for it, more than twice. I said I forgive you, man. I have since the island. You are a different person than you were when you did that and I am a different person than I was when I took the chip. We will not make those same mistakes again,” Raven said and Murphy nodded at her.

“I sure hope so. I couldn’t handle being back to that person. I had nothing, no friends, no family, no one I cared about except Emori and now I have all of you. I don’t want to go back to that douchebag and lose all of that,” He said to her and she nodded her head smiling.

“What about you? How were things for you when you left with Jaha, of all people to find the City of Light?” Raven asked him curiously and he chuckled at the thought of doing that.

“Well, to be completely honest, it’s not like any one of you wanted my amazing presence in Arkadia, did you?” He said to her and she chuckled at that.

“No, I most certainly did not. Specially, because it was right after the massacre at the village and when I tried to trade you off for Finn, which by the way, I am really sorry about. I should have never done something like that to you or anyone,” Raven said sincerely and he nodded.

“It’s okay, you’re forgiven. And well, for me, it was not great. We crossed a mined desert and then I got hurt on my arm, found a bunker and got trapped on the blasted place for those three months, almost shot myself before I got out, found Jaha gain, already a minion for the evil bitch in red and then, made my way out of there with Emori and I think you know the rest,” He said to her and she nodded her head.

“You really love her, don’t you? Emori, I mean? Last time, it was clear how much you cared about her, especially when Clarke almost used her as an experiment and you begged for her life,” She asked him and he sighed.

“Yeah, I do. I didn’t think I could feel this way for anyone since you know I am not a people’s person but she knew exactly how to deal with me and I couldn’t not fall in love with her. I mean, we went through a lot together and although it’s not the kind of love Clarke and the Commander have but I do love her. And you? How do you feel about Luna?” He asked her and she sighed too.

“That is an easy question with an incredibly complicated answer so I don’t know how I can answer you,” The mechanic said honestly and Murphy frowned turning is head to the side to look at her as Raven continued to look up at the ceiling.

“Why is it complicated? It seemed really simple to me at the island. It definitely looked very simple when she was comforting you,” He asked her and she sighed deeply.

“Because she already has someone. A guy named Derek, Erik, something like that and when we met, he had died so even if I want to be with her, I will need to make her love me again and I don’t know if it is possible. I mean, if she loves him, why would she want to be with me, right?” Raven said sadly and Murphy look at her.

“Hey, you can’t give up. I was there, remember? I saw first-hand how she was with you. That had nothing to do with the fact that she had lost this guy or whatever you’re thinking. It was because you two had a connection, a real connection. I am sure of that,” Murphy said confidently and Raven shrugged.

“I don’t know, John. I don’t even know if she felt what I felt. I am going on blind here, you know? I am hoping for something that I don’t even know if it was real or not. I just don’t know what to do, what I should or could do really,” Raven said to him and Murphy sat up on his bed and turned to her.

“Hey, trust me she felt it too. I mean, seriously Raven. The way she held you when you had that breakdown and started punching the hell out of me. How she took care of you and calmed you down? She felt it for real, I’m telling you,” He said to her honestly.

“But how could I possibly make her feel that again? She is in the middle of the sea, how am I even going to get close to her?” Raven asked him, wanting to believe his words more than anything and he smirked at her.

“That is one of the things Clarke is here for. She can get Lexa to call Luna to Polis and you can meet her there and use all your mechanic charms on her and she will not resist you.” He said and she chuckled at his idea, although, it was not all bad.

“Changing the subject and talking about Clarke, how do you think things are going with Lexa?” Raven asked him and Murphy leaned back grinning.

“I bet you anything you want that blondie is most certainly and definitely having a better night than us, that’s for sure,” He said and they both chuckled, happy for their friend’s happiness.

“You’re right and you know what? We should go to sleep, we have work tomorrow. Come on,” Raven said and laid back down on bed as did Murphy as they both tried to sleep while thinking about the girls they had feelings for. Meanwhile in another part of the camp, Bellamy and Octavia were together in another tent and they were talking about what happened.

“So nothing happened to TonDC with the missile the Mountain Men sent?” He asked her trying to be sure that he didn’t failed his mission to stop that disaster and she shook her head.

“No, apparently Clarke and the Commander were able to save the village without alerting them about you being inside their walls,” She explained it to him and he nodded.

“Well, I was scared when I heard you were there but I am glad things worked out well for all of us,” Bellamy said relieved of the success of their mission and Octavia nodded her head, agreeing with her big brother on the matter.

“Yeah, they worked it out by themselves, I think Kane and Murphy helped the Commander or something but what matters is that we avoided the missile and everyone was okay,” She said and Bellamy nodded.

“So, what’s with the grounder look?” He asked her, as he had noticed her new lok, her braided her and even her war paint, and she looked at him.

“Well, I am a second now so I have to dress the part,” Octavia said to him and he frowned his eyebrows at that piece of information he didn’t have before.

“And what the hell is that? What does being a second mean for you?” He asked her, in all of his big brother ‘protector’ tone of voice, and Octavia took a deep breath before answering, knowing he wouldn’t like the answer but also knowing there was no other way.

“A second is the same thing as an apprentice. I am Indra’s second which means she is teaching me how to be a Trikru warrior. When I finish my training, I can be accepted into the clan,” She said and Bellamy looked at her.

“Why would you want to be part of their clan, O? You’re part of the Sky People. You’re one of us,” He said to her but Octavia shook her head at him.

“No, Bell. To the Sky People, all I am is the girl who was hidden under the floor for 16 years. That is all I am. They don’t even consider me one of them,” She said to him and Bellamy shook his head.

“They do consider you one of us, O. Clarke does it, the 100 does it. I do. You are one of us,” He said to her sincerely since he believed in it but Octavia knew better and gave him a small smile.

“That’s because they’re my friends and because you’re my brother but I don’t feel that way too, Bell. I don’t feel like they are my people, the rest of the 100 yes but the rest, they don’t care about me, they don’t even acknowledge me. And now I am only the grounder girl to them. I need to find my own way Bell and I feel like I can get that with the Trikru. I want to be a warrior, this is what I want to do, what I feel I was meant to be doing. This is where I’m supposed to be, Bellamy. I’m happy,” Octavia tried to explain to him and he nodded his head.

“Well, I don’t know what you feel but I will support you if that is what you want to do. However, I will always be here for you, being from a different clan will never change the fact that you are my sister and you will always have a place with me,” He said to her and she smiled at him.

“I know, big brother. You’re family and no matter where I go, or where I belong, nothing will ever change that,” She said to him and they smiled at each other before they were interrupted by Lincoln who peaked his head inside the tent.

“Octavia, Indra is asking for you to take watch over the woods along with the other seconds,” He warned her and Octavia turned to look at her boyfriend and nodded her head at him, understanding the message before turning back to look at her brother.

“Well, I have to go to work now. Will you be okay here?” Octavia asked him worriedly and Bellamy smiled at her before nodding his head.

“Yeah, I will be just fine. Have fun,” He said to her and she smiled before giving him a kiss on the cheek and standing up. She walked out of the tent and Lincoln was about to follow her when Bellamy called him.

“Lincoln, do you have a moment for us to talk?” He asked out loud and the warrior looked back at him for a while before nodding and walking inside the tent to take Octavia’s place sitting down in front of the guy.

“I know that you and my sister love each other very much so I thought it would be a good thing if we talked,” Bellamy started saying and the warrior nodded but stayed silent which Bellamy understood as a sign to continue so he cleared his throat before speaking.

“Well, someone told me too many times to count that I should own my shit and be a man about my mistakes and I took too long to follow that advice but I think I should start doing it now so I would like to start by apologizing to you for capturing you and trying to torture you back in the dropship,” Bellamy said seriously and Lincoln just titled his head.

“I thought that it was the only way to get information from you to try to defend my friends from your people’s attacks but it was still bad of me to do so and I would also like to apologize for what happened in the cave. Octavia is the only family I have left and since she was born, all I ever wanted was to keep her safe and whenever she is in danger, I don’t think, I just act and it usually ends badly or in a mess but I am trying to be better and more focused. It’s not an excuse for my behavior but I was hoping it could help you understand why I did what I did, if you can,” Bellamy said honestly to him as Lincoln listened.

“Now would be the time for you to say something, anything,” Bellamy said to the scary looking guy and waited for Lincoln, who stayed silent while looking at him, making Bellamy a little bit uncomfortable. Bellamy sighed and was about to give up when Lincoln spoke up.

“Why are you apologizing to me, Bellamy?” Lincoln asked him seriously and Bellamy frowned his eyebrows not sure how to respond to that.

“I just explained why,” Bellamy said not understanding the question and Lincoln shook his head before speaking again.

“No, you gave me your reason why you felt the need to apologize but not why you did it. What made you think it would be good to apologize?” Lincoln asked him.

“Well, because you are my sister’s boyfriend and because you don’t plan on tossing her away, do you?” Bellamy asked him and Lincoln shook his head.

“Of course not. I love Octavia and plan to stay with her until the day, I breathe my last breath,” He said sincerely, firmly and Bellamy nodded his head in acceptance of that fact.

“Exactly, so since you plan on being with her for a long time, I thought that we should have an understanding between us so we don’t have to make her choose between us two. I don’t want that for her and you don’t want that for her either so if we can be cool with each other, she will be happy and that is what we both want since we both love her,” Bellamy said seriously.

“Very well. You don’t have anything to apologize to me. We were in different sides of this war and you did what you had to do for your people and for your sister, I probably would have done the same in your position but you are right, we both love Octavia and will do everything for her so if an understanding is what you want then I can give that to you,” Lincoln said and extended his arm as Bellamy looked at it and grabbed it shaking it.

“Thank you,” He said sincerely and Lincoln nodded returning the sentiment.

“You’re welcome,” Lincoln said as they let go and Bellamy chuckled.

“O will be thrilled. Sometimes, she is like a little kid but sometimes, she is stronger than anyone gives her credit for, myself included,” Bellamy said to him and Lincoln nodded.

“I think that is why Indra chose her. She could see that strength inside, just like I did,” He said and Bellamy nodded his head before continuing to speak to the guy.

“She wasn’t always like that though, you know? A fighter, at least not before she got locked up. She used to depend on me for everything and I would do everything for her and I think I am still on that mindset while she is changing, adapting so now, I am trying to catch up, I guess,” Bellamy said to him and Lincoln understood what he was saying.

“How was Octavia when she was younger?” Lincoln asked him out of curiosity and trying to reach out to the brother of the woman he loves and Bellamy, understanding the action for what it was, smiled before replying.

“Demanding, she had to stay under the floor so I would have to play with her, tell her stories, and invent them as well to distract her when she was bored,” He said before he continued telling the grounder warrior stories about Octavia when she was a kid and so on. They had good laughs with some of them and truly seemed to be pushing towards the beginning of a nice friendship which was definitely something Octavia was very happy to hear about later on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How did you guys like this chapter? As I had previously warned, we will see a bit more of our other characters lives so I hope you are not disappointed and can give this format a shot. Comment so that I know what you guys think of it so far and what you hope for the rest of the story. Comment a lot. KKKKK. And as usual,  
> Kisses, Kisses,  
> Your Author.


	5. Time to work

Clarke woke up hours later with the sun already up and shining and she sighed. Another day has come and there was much too be done yet, which was a tiring prospect but she still was grateful for this second chance she had been given, especially when she turns around and is met with the view of the bare back of the woman she loves more than anything. The memories of the night before still fresh on her mind as she quietly moved the covers further down until it rested on Lexa’s butt, repositioned herself as careful as possible and started dropping kisses starting on the base of her girlfriend’s spine and going all the way up.

She felt exactly the moment when Lexa woke up from the tightening of her muscles before relaxing them again as Clarke continued with her ministrations, kissing every inch of her back all the way up to her neck while partially lying on top of the said girl. Clarke couldn’t help but imagine spending the rest of her life having the chance to go to sleep and wake up with Lexa every day. It was definitely a dream come true and she couldn’t help but think how lucky she was to be the one to fall to the ground and to have met this woman she loved so much.

“Good morning baby,” She said as she came to lay on top of Lexa’s back and leaned forward to deliver kisses on Lexa’s cheek.

“Good morning my love,” Lexa said still without opening her eyes, “Should I hope for more morning wake up calls like this?” She said and Clarke smiled as her hand started going up and down the girl’s waist until past her hips before coming right back up.

“If you’re a good girl and if you behave, who knows? Maybe,” Clarke said by her ear smirking as she bit the brunette’s ear a bit and Lexa chuckled.

“And if I’m a bad girl and don’t behave, what will it be then?” She asked smirking still with her eyes closed and Clarke smirked as well.

“Then, in that case, it’s most definitely a yes,” She said and Lexa full out laughed over it and so did the blonde girl. This morning was exactly the kind of morning she had dreamed of having with Lexa, just playing around and laughing and enjoying being with the one you love.

“Well, I shall keep that in mind for further evaluation of my behavior. Perhaps being bad has its perks,” Lexa said smiling and Clarke smiled back and they were silent after that until Clarke spoke up again.

“Babe,” She said and Lexa hummed in response, “when exactly did you fall in love with me?” Clarke asked leaning her chin on her hand that was resting on Lexa’s shoulder, as the brunette finally opened her eyes as she turned her head a little to look at the blonde.

“Why the question?” She asked gently and Clarke shrugged her shoulders, she wasn’t sure why she wanted to know the moment Lexa feel in love with her, she just knew she did.

“I don’t know. It just came up to me now that I don’t know when you fell in love with me. I was curious,” She said sincerely and Lexa nodded before motioning to turn around to which Clarke gave her the space too before positioning herself again on top of the girl who had one arm wrapped around her waist and the other hand was caressing her face.

“Do you want me to be one hundred percent honest?” Lexa asked her and Clarke smiled at her girlfriend and nodded her head.

“100% honest. When was the moment you fell in love with me?” She asked again and Lexa nodded before she smiled and answered the girl.

“The first three second when I looked at you the first time you entered my tent. That was when I fell in love with you,” Lexa said sincerely and Clarke smiled before leaning down and kissing her for a while before she pulled back. She was really too lucky when it came to Lexa.

“What about you? What was like for you when we first met and when did you fall in love with me or at least realized it?” Lexa asked her girlfriend once they pulled back from the kiss a while later and Clarke looked at her before answering.

“Well, for me, when I entered your tent and saw you, looked into your eyes, I knew that there was something familiar about them, about you. It was like I knew you before we met, like I knew you better than I knew myself,” Clarke said and Lexa nodded having felt that herself.

“But I think that the moment when I really started to fall in love with you was when we came to check on Lincoln because when Lincoln died momentarily and the weapons were drawn on both sides, I worried about you for some reason,” Clarke said to her and Lexa nodded.

“And the moment when you realized you were actually in love with me? When was that?” Lexa asked her curiously and Clarke smiled at her girlfriend.

“After our encounter with the Pauna, when we were in that little clearing and I woke up with it roaring and you said that it was okay and that I was safe and for the first time since my Dad had died, I actually believed those words. What about you?” Clarke asked as Lexa started caressing her back which felt amazing.

“For me, it was close to that. When I saw Quint raised his hand at you, to hurt you, that was when I knew I was completely, madly and irrevocably in love with you,” Lexa said as she kissed the blonde and Clarke nodded her head at the memory.

“That was actually really scary for me. The guy was huge. But anyway, one more question and then we get up because we have work to do,” She said and Lexa nodded.

“That night in your tent when we were discussing plans and I was freaking out about the battle, were you really jealous of Bellamy?” Clarke asked her and it was something she had always been curious about but never had the time to ask the brunette. Lexa sighed.

“I have always been jealous of Bellamy, Clarke. That night was no different,” She said sincerely and Clarke was a little surprised by her answer.

“Really? You jealous of Bellamy? What for? There has never been anything romantic between us, we were always just friends and co-leaders. Why would you be jealous of him?” Clarke asked her and Lexa took a deep breath before she continued answering.

“From the moment I saw you with him, I knew that the two of you had a strong connection, I just wasn’t sure if it was purely platonic and the more I saw you two and saw how you worried about him, the more I thought that you had feelings for him, feelings you may had not even realized you had yourself,” Lexa explained before continuing as Clarke listened to her.

“And that suspicion would only grow. That night when I said you cared about him, I had meant in more than a friendly way and you said you cared about all of them but even if you didn’t realize then or now, the truth is you do, in fact, worry about him more than the others. And I don’t know if in this time it will be the same since we spent a lot of time together but in the other timeline, it was clear for everyone but you to see that he loved you. I could see it on his eyes in the way he looked at you the night of the summit. Did anything ever happen between you two after I died?” Lexa asked her and Clarke shook her head.

“No, of course not. Bellamy and I never had anything other than friendship and partnership in leading my people. But I do think that I started to notice his feelings, especially towards the end. I think there was a moment where he wanted to say something about that to me but I cut him off. Not only because it sounded like a goodbye but because I didn’t want us to go there so that I would be forced to reject him,” Clarke explained and Lexa nodded.

“And now, do you think this version of Bellamy has feelings for you?” Lexa asked her and Clarke shook her head firmly. Of this answer, she was sure of.

“No, he does not have any romantic feelings for me. I guarantee you that. Finn, on the other hand, I tried to avoid it but it seems that there was no changing that,” She said sadly and sighed as Lexa smirked at her girlfriend.

“Wells, Bellamy, Finn, me, Niylah. You are quite the heartbreaker, aren’t you SkaiPrisa?” Lexa said teasing the blonde and Clarke shook her head.

“For the others in the past timeline, maybe. But to you, never, especially not this time. I will love you and want you every day for the rest of my life and nothing and no one can ever change that. And everyone can be in love with me for all I care. I just want you,” Clarke said firmly and sincerely and Lexa nodded.

“I know. I trust you and I will only love you and want you for the rest of my life as well,” She said sincerely and with love in her yes and they couldn’t resist kissing for a long while before pulling back once air became a necessity.

“We should really get up. We have a long day ahead of us,” Lexa said to her and that was exactly what they did. Clarke got off of her and watched as Lexa left the bed and started dressing herself for work.

“I love seeing you get dressed. There is something about it that just makes it sexy and hot,” Clarke said as Lexa finished buttoning her pants.

“I can understand what you mean. I feel the same way watching you dress as well. Maybe it’s the knowledge that the only we can see each other without the clothes,” Lexa said as she put on her chest binding and Clarke finally decided to get dressed as well and given that her clothes were much simpler, she didn’t take as much time as Lexa. But by the time she was finished. Lexa had just finished braiding her hair before Clarke came up behind her and wrapped her arms around her waist.

“I missed you so much for this past year we had to spend apart,” Clarke said as she kissed Lexa’s neck and Lexa smiled at her.

“I missed you too more than you can imagine,” She turned around and kissed Clarke, both of them pouring out their love into the kiss. It was intense but not passionate though Clarke certainly thought it was too short when Lexa pulled away.

“They will be bringing breakfast soon enough and we have a lot to discuss,” She said and the blonde nodded and stepped away from her girlfriend as if she had the plague just in time as breakfast was brought in by two warriors and they put it on the table before bowing to the Commander and leaving the tent.

“Come on Clarke, relax. They won’t come here unless it is an emergency,” Lexa said hugging the girl from behind resting her chin on her shoulder and bringing her close to her body.

“I’m relaxed Lexa and I wouldn’t care if they find out about us but you would and because of your position you have to,” Clarke explained and Lexa sighed nodding.

“Yes, you’re right and I wish I didn’t have to. I wish that I could just waltz out of this tent holding you in my arms the way I am now but unfortunately, I can’t. Not yet, at least. It would be too dangerous for you more than anything. I hope you can understand,” Lexa said feeling sorry for the predicament of having to keep their relationship a secret and Clarke nodded.

“I know exactly what your position demand of you, Lexa and I don’t mind. I understand. Besides, I know that secret won’t be a secret for too long unless you plan on bailing on our marriage,” Clarke said to her and Lexa turned her around to look at her firmly in the eyes.

“I would never do that. Being able to call you my wife is a dream I am not giving up on, no matter what,” Lexa said firmly to her and Clarke smiled believing her words.

“I sure as hell hope not because I really don’t want to waste our time together like we did last time. We waited too long in the past and almost lost our chance at being together and I will not let it happen again,” Clarke said to her and Lexa smiled.

“We will get married, I promise you but first, I need to get the Skaikru to be the 13th clan, okay? At least, that way I can guarantee their safety and yours,” Lexa said and Clarke smiled.

“As long as you promise you will not take too long to do that, I can wait,” She said before they kissed and pulled back.

“I promise. Now, let’s eat. We have an important day ahead of us,” Lexa said and they moved to the table and sat down on it.

“Why do you keep saying that? What is so important about today? What is happening today?” Clarke asked her girlfriend as they started to eat their breakfast.

“We shall be returning to the Mountain to discussed peace terms with the new leader of the Mountain Men chosen by you,” Lexa said to her and Clarke was surprised but not shocked, they would have to at some point anyway, why not now?

“And what do you have in mind? Because I have to admit, I’m going on blind here. I had plans up to the battle but right now, I’m not sure how to proceed, especially when it concerns your people,” Clarke asked her girlfriend and Lexa nodded as if already expecting that.

“I think we need to get Raven and Murphy here for this. We will need their help anyway,” Lexa said and Clarke nodded knowing her girlfriend was right. They were all in this together so Lexa called her guard outside and ordered him to go fetch the two friends and within a couple of minutes in which the couple talked about minor matters, both sky people walk inside their tent, not really knowing why they were there.

“Hey, Hot Stuff. Bitch,” Raven said greeting both of them as she high fived with Clarke.

“Commander. Blondie,” Murphy said greeting them as well and Lexa nodded smiling at them.

“Please, Raven and Murphy, join us. It seems we have much to talk about,” Lexa said to them and motioned for the other chairs surrounding the table and they nodded before sitting down.

“Lexa and I were talking about what can be done about the Mountain and their people now that they have been defeated and not exterminated like last time,” Clarke explained to them and they both nodded.

“Okay, so what have you two decided to do with them so far?” Raven asked the couple and Clarke shook her head.

“We haven’t decided anything, we wanted to talk with you two and see if we could come up with something together,” Clarke said to them and Murphy nodded.

“Okay, so what are your ideas on how to deal with them so far?” He asked them and Lexa was the one to speak up this time.

“First, I want all of their mass destruction weapons disable for good. That is non-negotiable for me or my people,” Lexa said firmly and they nodded understanding her position.

“But how will they defend themselves should your people decide to pay them a visit? You have to know that your people will not simply leave them be, especially given the history you have,” Raven said and Lexa nodded.

“I know, they are not particularly fond of your people either but I am hoping that once you two join the Coalition and prove to them that you are not what they think you are, that maybe they will be willing to give the Mountain Men a chance to be part of us.” Lexa said to them and Clarke was definitely taken aback now.

“You can’t possibly be suggesting that they join the Coalition as well?” Raven asked her best friend’s girlfriend and Lexa smirked before she properly looked at Clarke’s face and her smirk fell of her face.

“Why, I though you would be happy for that. You have friends inside the Mountain or so you told me last time. This would be perfect for them. Besides, didn’t you ask me to do that as soon as the battle was over? To make them a part of the Coalition?” Lexa said confusedly by the blonde’s reaction.

“I would be happy if I didn’t know that something like that would put a huge target on your back and I was running on adrenaline. I may have said something about it but I most certainly forgot to weigh down the danger that decision could mean for you,” Clarke said seriously to her girlfriend.

“Lexa, you may not want to hear this but Clarke is right,” Murphy said to the older brunette and Raven continued on what he was saying,

“Letting the Sky people join will be enough of a change to twist the guts of more than a few powerful people you have among those Ambassadors, not to mention the clan leaders. You can’t tell us that it’s not possible that if you even suggest to them that you are even considering thinking about the Mountain Men joining their Coalition, that they will not kill you for it,” Raven said seriously and Clarke continued.

“They could kill you. Or they could at least try for a vote of no confidence and without me there, they may just dethrone you and then everything would fall into the same chaos it was before. Besides I, for one, will not put their lives before yours, not again,” Clarke said seriously to her and Lexa was touched by their words.

“You’re both right and Raven, doing that will probably make a lot of them unhappy but I don’t see another way for this situation to have a good outcome. My choices are to anger my people for asking a lifelong enemy to be one of us or to kick them off of my lands and let them forge a new path for them far away from here on an unknown land or to simply let my people do whatever they want with the survivors since I will have no reason to stop them. So in the end is either I put my life at risk or I exile them Spirit knows where or I sentenced them to die,” Lexa said to them and Clarke sighed.

“They couldn’t survive out there. They know nothing of the world or how to survive on it and the only ones who did are dead. And sentencing innocent people to die is wrong and I am not, at all, comfortable with you putting your life at risk for them.” Clarke said out loud.

“So we are back at where we started anyway. What the hell are we supposed to do with them now?” Murphy said to them and Clarke shook her head.

“Isn’t there anything you can do to make sure that your people can at least give them a chance to prove themselves differently than their previous leaders?” Clarke asked her girlfriend and Lexa sighed before she looked at all three of them before focusing on her girlfriend.

“I don’t know if there is, Clarke. I really don’t.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys. Sorry for not updating yesterday, I was kind of sick so I couldnt do it on Monday as promised but I updated today since I am feeling all better now. I hope you guys have enjoyed domestic Clexa as well as G4 (Group 4kkk) having a talk about the decisions on the Mountain Men. Also some of you have started this so i wanted to make a trend and ask for you to comment your favorite line of the chapter. I had so much fun reading the comments in the last chapter, it left me inspired to write more and more so keep commenting, respectfully. I love them. i love you guys. Until next update on Wednesday.  
> Kisses, kisses,  
> Your Author.


	6. EXpeculations and Ideas

“I understand that you want to make life better for them Clarke, and for the most part I am supporting you through it but you have to realize that although you and your people may have understood and forgiven them for the pain they caused you, my people will not be so forgiving. The Mountain Men haunted us since Becca first came here, it’s the reason why she created our own language in the first place. Moving on from that will be a slow development for my people,” Lexa said to her girlfriend and Clarke sighed, she knew it was the truth.

“I know and I understand your point, you’re right. Your people suffered way worse and for way longer than mine but what else is there as an option? I don’t want to lose all of them like before but I will not put your life at risk for theirs if it comes down to it either. So we really needed to come up with a solution that can suit everyone,” She said sighing as Raven suddenly had an idea while listening to them.

“Why don’t we make sure that your people know that the ones who survived were fighting their own people inside the Mountain? That way they would understand why you are letting them live in the first place, right?” The mechanic asked Lexa who sighed.

“You mean, tell them that without those people we couldn’t have gotten inside and rescued the prisoners? Okay, that would have to count for something with your people. They are not that heartless, are they?” Murphy said to the brunette and Lexa relaxed back into her chair.

“It is something, yes and they are not that heartless. And maybe if they agreed, after the treatment, to move out of the Mountain and live outside those walls never to enter it, it could help their case. Those lands are not claimed by any clan so they could do it and keep the place locked so no one will ever get inside, not without my permission, of course. We don’t need a second Emerson in our hands,” Lexa said to them and Clarke nodded her head.

“I agree and I am sure that to have a chance to live their lives in peace and out here in the open, they will agree to your demands as well so that can be a good solution for now. In the meantime, speaking of Emerson, the prisoners, when will they die?” She asked the Commander and Lexa answered her.

“As soon as we get back to TonDC. The trials will start when we reach there but until then they are being heavily guarded by some of my most trusted warriors and are all waiting for judgment, as it is to be expected,” Lexa explained to all of them and they nodded.

“So what exactly are you planning on doing forward? I mean, Nia, Ontari, Titus, Pike and ALIE are all still a threat to all of us,” Murphy asked the couple and Lexa could only sigh as she thought about all those enemies they still had to defeat quickly, preferably.

“For some of them, the path necessary to deal with them is clear but for some of the others, not so much. Nia will try something again, maybe not three months from now, possibly sooner than that so I must think about what ways I can protect myself and my people from her advances, especially if she will not openly declare war against me,” Lexa continued.

“Ontari cannot repeat her actions, not unless I die which I don’t plan on doing it anytime soon and I am certainly increasing the guards on my nightbloods, just in case. Titus is something I don’t know how to deal with yet. Granted at this moment, your people haven’t made a mess of things and maybe, just maybe he will not do anything like that again, though I doubt it. I think his problem is more connected to our feelings for each other than to the consequences of it, which means he is still a threat to Clarke,” She said and Clarke could see in her eyes and could also imagine how much it pained her to say those words about the man who raised her.

“As for Pike, he will be found and when he is, I am sure he and his little band will hate me and my people the same as before so he will be a problem we will have to deal with together. Team effort if you will,” Lexa said to them and Clarke faced her.

“Wouldn’t it be better to bring him in as fast as possible before he hates you? That way he won’t have a reason to,” Raven said to them and Murphy nodded his head at what she said. It made perfect sense to do that.

“Yes, that was what I thought so to at first but when Lexa and I talked she showed me that it could be bad if we did that. We need to build a strong relationship with Lexa’s people first. Last time, because of the betrayal and my absence, that was not possible to be done but now, with all of us working together and with Lexa’s plan to join us to the Coalition soon, we can have a few months at least of good relations with them before we rescue a group of people that will think that a good grounder is a dead grounder,” Clarke explained to her friends.

“Besides even if he got here now, he would still want us dead, not because we have attacked him but because we have the power and the land and your people doesn’t. Delaying the rescue will not quench his prejudice against us. We are different from your people and that for him is enough reason to hate us and want to annihilate us. At least by spending some time joining our people together and being closer and closer, we can guarantee that besides his own people, he won’t find any followers amongst yours,” Lexa said to them.

“I think you guys may be right. Remember when we were in class and he was asked what he would do if there were survivors and he said our people should kill them all? He was always that man that would murder thousands of innocent people if he felt like it. He could have never fallen into the Ice Nation and he still would be the same dickhead he was in our time. There is no salvation for that man, whatsoever,” Murphy said to them and Raven nodded.

“Murphy is right. Pike will be a problem regardless of the time he passes in that place. I just wished we didn’t have to let the people of Farm Station die because of him. Some of them are innocents and don’t deserve to die,” She said to them and Clarke couldn’t help but nod.

“I know and I feel the same but we are thriving a silent and unconscious war with him and unfortunately, they will have to be casualties of this war. If we were to rescue him when there are a lot of them from farm Station and we still have a shaky relationship with the grounders, he could find even more followers this time around and actually do what he wanted last time which was to declare war against Lexa and her people and eradicate them from the face of this Earth and we can’t, I can’t allow that to happen,” Clarke explained to them.

Frankly, they both had to admit that they also felt that the time was not really the problem with Pike. He would have been too power hungry anyway and would have wanted them to claim the land as such as he did before through the same ways as before or not, it didn’t matter if they got to him sooner or later, his prejudice would still be there awaiting for them as soon as he got here. And that giving him more time to build up his case against the grounders and having more chances to lure people to following him again could turn out to be a huge mistake, they knew Clarke and Lexa were right.

“So we are really going to let some time pass before we rescue them? Let them stay there until it is okay to get them back? When will we know to do that?” Raven asked the couple who nodded and Clarke was the one to speak up.

“We will do exactly what was done before. A few months from now, Kane will personally take a group to make recognition of sector 7 which is the Azgeda territory and naturally find them the same way they did last time while looking for me and then he will take them back to Arkadia,” Clarke said to them and they nodded.

“However, in the meantime, it would be beneficial if we could strengthen the ties we have with one another so that when he does come along with his people, all they will see is unity between both of our people,” Lexa finished for her and they all agreed that it would be a good course of action for all parties involved.

“Okay, we agree. With or without the Ice Nation, Pike is an asshole and Hanna, his second in command, is one as much as he is so they will come for you and us, no matter what they see so we need to be prepared for when they do, I don’t want your people and you in the same situation as before,” Clarke said to her girlfriend and Lexa nodded.

“Neither do I but at this point, in regards to him, all we can do is wait and see what will happen. There is not much we can do objectively,” Lexa said to them and they nodded.

“All this talk is already tiring me and we haven’t even left which is something we should be doing. We need to get going to talk to Maya and Jasper, see how it goes from there,” Raven said and Lexa nodded finishing her breakfast and they finished getting ready and with one last kiss, the couple walked out of the tent along with their friends and in the direction of where their horses were and after mounting them, they started on their way back to the Mountain.

On their way there, they were joined by Kane who had just arrived to talk to them about the need to give a course of action with the Mountain. Raven, Murphy briefly explained to him what they talked about with the couple as they went  back towards the Mountain. The three of them were talking about what to do next. “As much as I am happy about changing the outcome of this, what the hell are we going to do with these people?” Raven said and the other two nodded.

“The real problem of this situation is how can they work with the grounders ever? Do they have a common ground we can use to help their relation?” Murphy asked and the other two shrugged.

“I have no idea but killing all of them, I don’t think Clarke wants that to be an option. She fought so hard to avoid getting to that point, I don’t think she wants to make that same choice if there is any other way,” Kane said to them and Raven shook her head.

“But that is the problem, Kane. They may not have another choice. The grounders will not be happy and welcoming them with open arms anytime soon and openly helping them can be dangerous for both of them like we discussed this morning. It’s a tough decision to make because one way or another someone is not going to be happy about it and can become dangerous for both of them or all of us,” Raven said and the man nodded.

“Which is why we need to help them find a solution that will be beneficial for everyone involved. They are trusting us to help make that choice and our job will be to find the best choice,” Kane said to them and they nodded.

“Another problem will be Jaha. We have no idea how things will go with him still holding his place as Chancellor. He can screw everything up for us with just one disrespectful word to the Commander,” Raven said and Kane nodded at her he was also apprehensive about that, Jaha as Chancellor on Earth is not something he was looking forward to.

“Can’t you challenge him for the position? Call for an election? Or do we have to wait for people to trust you more before we can do that?” Murphy asked and Kane shook his head.

“Right now, if that were to happen, I’m afraid he would still win and it would create a problem between us and, as long as I am on the council and in a position to advise him and know of his moves before he makes them, I can work with Clarke to minimize the damage he can cause and be a source of information and support for her because I guarantee you, she will have a tough time with the council we have today. She is only a child in their eyes and it will take a lot to change that,” He explained to them and they nodded.

Meanwhile near the Mountain, Bellamy, Octavia, Lincoln, Finn, Wells, Jessica, Monroe, Monty, Miller and Harper sat around the fire they had talking about everything that had happened, is happening and their predictions on what would happen. They were having a real nice chat. It was definitely good to be reunited with their friends and not worrying about anything. “What do you guys think will happen now?” Wells asked the group and they didn’t go too far away from the truth.

“What I think is that it would be really complicated to find a place for the Mountain Men, especially with the grounders,” Finn said out loud and the others nodded.

“It’s not like the grounders will want anything to do with them, right?” Octavia asked her boyfriend who nodded.

“My people will never forget what they suffered in their people’s hands and inside this place,” He said as he looked behind them to the door.

“So what exactly do we do about it?” Harper asked not anyone in particular.

“Can we do something about it? I think that is the question.” Bellamy said sighing and the others nodded.

“Bellamy is right. There is not much we can do about it. Their fate is on Clarke’s and the Commander’s hands. From what Kane told us, the two of them will be coming here to talk to Maya about what is up next for them.” Wells said.

“Will you be joining them?” Miller asked them and both Wells and Jessica shrugged although they both knew they wanted to help their friends.

“If Clarke asks for us to help, then we most certainly will. Otherwise, we will have to wait for news just like the rest of you,” Wells said to them and everyone nodded.

“I think that no matter what, Jasper will be the most affected by whatever they decided than any of us. He really loves Maya,” Monty said and they nodded since they knew that his relationship with Maya made him much closer to the lot of them than the rest.

“If anything bad is decided, he will take the hardest. He actually grew close to some of them while trying to find a way out for us,” Harper said to them.

“I don’t think Clarke is going to let anything happen to Maya, even if anything bad is decided in regards to what to do with them.” Finn said trying to comfort the two friends.

“Yeah but how much can Clarke protect her against the wrath of the grounders? If the Commander demands their heads or something, how much can Clarke do to protect them before she puts herself at risk with the grounders?” Monroe asked those questions out loud.

“Zoe is right. Clarke may have a lot of sway with the grounders but they are still in control of the situation. I mean, look around us. It’s their army that is making security in here. I’m afraid that she will be as powerless as the rest of us if it comes down to it,” Miller said to them and the others seemed to think about it.

“Yeah, you could be right, it will possible be ten times harder to deal with the situation now that the war is over and we may not have a lot of say into the decisions but it’s Clarke we’re talking about here. She has done the impossible more times than I can count. If anyone can convince the grounders to spare the innocents or Maya or whoever, it will be her. Our leader has a way to get people to do what she wants, she can do so with the grounders as well,” Bellamy said and everyone nodded knowing that Clarke was like that, unpredictable.

“Bellamy is right. Clarke is a born leader and she will do whatever is best for us and for everyone else as well so we should just help whenever and wherever we can and let her do her magic.” Wells said to them and they all nodded knowing he was right.

“On that note and changing the subject, how was it being free again after two weeks in that hell?” Finn asked with a smile on his face and so did everyone else.

“Pretty damn good, if you ask me. I never thought I would miss the dangers of the outside world as much as I have. Thank you Mountain Men,” Miller said and the others chuckled.

“It was nice at first, here, you know. Everyone seemed to be so nice, so good and they always wanted to help and make sure we were feeling home and with everything that happened at the dropship, we wanted to believe their promises so badly that we didn’t even think to check if they were really honest or not and it turned out to be pretty bad. I would take fighting the grounders over that anytime,” Harper said and she was still the most affected by what happened out of all the others since she was drilled on for longer than they were though she was looking better already.

“Yeah, I think so too but I can’t help but think, what if that was us inside? Trapped without a way out? Would we have acted different than they did if it came down to our people’s survival? Would we have refused the bone marrow transplant if we were in their shoes?” Bellamy asked them sincerely curious to an answer for those questions.

“You mean, would we have kidnapped innocent people to drain for their blood and then kidnapped teenagers to drain them of their bone marrow killing all of them along the way? No, I don’t think so.” Octavia said and Bellamy sighed shaking his head.

“No, O. I mean, would we do whatever it took to save our people from a certified doom? Would we have put the lives of our loved ones before the lives of our enemies and done whatever it took to guarantee our survival in favor of theirs? I don’t know if sending a 100 teenagers to the ground while possibly sending them to their deaths just so they could have more oxygen to figure a solution screams a no to my question,” He said to her.

“It is difficult to say what we would have done if we were in their places but I would like to believe we would have found a better way. That at least we wouldn’t have attacked the grounders and treated them like animals for their blood. That instead of doing that, we would have reached out and tried to come up with a joint solution for our problem without the pain they caused. That we would have been more human than they were,” Wells said and the others nodded.

“Yeah, I would like to think that too. It would be too scary to think we are no better than them. That we are not actually the good guys in the story,” Finn said to them.

From a distance, they started hearing greetings of Heda and soon enough they could see the two women with Raven, Murphy and Kane behind with the entourage of guards coming to a stop way from them as they both dismounted and Indra was one of the first people to come with them. “What do you think they are talking about?” Miller asked the others.

“Possibly the same thing what we were talking about. The future of the Mountain,” Bellamy said and the others nodded. They saw Clarke nod to her before she and the two friends turned and started making their way towards where they were sitting down as Kane and the Commander walked straight inside the Mountain.

“Morning guys,” Clarke said greeting her friends and they greeted each other before she stood in front of them with Raven and Murphy accompanying her.

“So what is going to happen to them? To the Mountain Men?” Miller asked her and Clarke turned to look at him and sighed shaking her head.

“I don’t know yet. We will have a meeting with Maya right now and see what kind of solution we can come up with together but for now, things are not looking very good to them where the grounders are concerned so I don’t know. I really don’t know. I guess we’ll see,” She said truthfully and they nodded.

“Jasper is inside. He hasn’t left Maya side since the battle started. I think he is afraid of this meeting and of something happening to her,” Monty said to her and Clarke sighed.

“I figured. In his position, I would be too but whatever happens, I guarantee Maya will be safe,” She said to him and they all nodded at her before she continued, “Anyway, the meeting is about to start so Ray, John, you’re coming with me.” She said and the two nodded already knowing that piece of information.

“Wells, you’re coming too. Your Dad is inside and I will need your help into containing his stupidity and God complex,” Clarke said to her best friend since birth and everyone chuckled.

“Bell, I need you to go check on all the others, they don’t trust the guards or the adults but they trust you so can you do that for me and make sure that they are all okay? Check if any of them need medical treatment, anything, okay?” She asked him and he nodded.

“Of course. Don’t worry, I will take good care of them,” Bellamy said to her and she nodded her head. Something told her she didn’t need to doubt him about that, he seemed to have finally found his path and the right one so she could only be happy for him.

“Thanks. Finn can help you. Octavia, Lincoln, the Commander has issued you two for patrol. You need to check with Pio and then Octavia, go and join Indra. The rest can just relax,” She said and they all nodded thankful for the reprieve.

“Okay, guys, see you later. Let’s go,” Clarke said and the people she called to join her stood up and followed her inside the mountain ready for a very difficult meeting ahead of them.

“Okay, we have our instructions, let’s go do this and hope that things go well in there,” Bellamy said as the others also stood up and watched as Clarke, followed by Raven, Murphy and Wells in this order, entered the place as the door closed behind them and they sighed, extinguishing the fire and walking away from there to do what she asked of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, how have you been? Fine? Me too. I am much better now and also very inspired. While editing this chapter, the world count went from barely 2000 words to almost 4000. Crazy, right? I just felt like I could improve the plot more and the dialogues as well. So what did you guys thought of it? Was it good? BAd? Terrible? Boring? Exciting? Please tell me in the comments, I love reading it. But remember, respectful comments only. Okay? Well until the next update on Friday.  
> Kisses, Kisses  
> Your Author.


	7. Accepting Role

During the trip towards the Mountain, Anya, Gustus and Indra talked among themselves about something that came to their minds. Once they had all decided to go back to the Mountain, it didn’t take long before Clarke and Lexa found themselves on the back of their horses down the road that would lead them back to the Mountain. They were sided by side and talking about safe subjects since there was people coming along with them and it would be too risk to say anything about important matters in this moment so they talked about discovery the blonde made during her time at the drop ship as she made questions about Earth and everything.

For everyone else that was watching the two girls, their conversation seemed to be pretty polite and polished, very put together and diplomatic, superficial even, and they would be right at first glance to think that but there were three people that were accompanying them who could see beyond the mask they were putting on. Anya, Indra and Gustus, who had followed behind them, could tell that there was more to the two leaders together than it meets the eyes and they also knew it would be their jobs to keep both of them safe.

“ _Is it just me or do you see the sparks going on between those two as well?”_ Anya had asked lowly her two companions. Indra was to her left and Gustus was to her right.

“ _Between who? Heda and the Sky Girl, you mean?”_ Indra asked the younger general in the same tone of voice making sure no one else, not even the girls in question can hear what they are talking about. Anya nodded as she keeps her eyes focused on the girls as well as completely aware of their surroundings just in case.

“ _Yes, am I the only who noticed how they try to avoid looking at each other when there are people around them and that when they do look at each other, they almost don’t want to pull away? Like it was painful to stop looking at each other?”_ She asked them.

“ _I’ve noticed it. How could you not when they are so obvious?”_ Indra answered and Anya looked at Gustus who nodded his head agreeing with the older woman.

“ _Could it be that she is falling in love again? That she is finally opening up her heart to someone else?”_ Anya asked talking about her second.

Many times she had spoken to the other two about such subjects and although it’s true that their people are not usually the best at expressing or talking about their feelings, the three of them love Lexa as if she was a part of their family, they all accompanied her life throughout the years, they were there from the first day of command until now. They truly and sincerely cared about her Lexa, the person and not just the Commander. They all wanted her to be happy since they knew how much she deserved it, given the number of times she has sacrificed herself in the name of her duties to her people.

They really cared about her and many times after Costia was killed, the three would come together and talk about how Lexa was dealing with it, how they wished she wouldn’t be in so much pain and when she started saying that love is weakness which none of them agreed with, they all cursed Titus together for using a debilitated moment of her to drill his ideals into her head again and they all tried to show her that was not the case and encouraged her to meet some people and try to let herself feel things again instead of shutting her feelings down but even they got pushed away, Anya more so than the others.

The bond they had created throughout the years they spent together, as first and second, made it difficult for Lexa to keep up the walls she had built around her heart when Anya was around and the young girl always feared that the woman could get her to break down those walls and deal with the pain she was feeling so to avoid that and to avoid the confrontation with her own emotions, she pushed the older woman away, turning more and more to Titus, to Anya’s displeasure. It was impressive how the three of them hated the guy so much.

None of them trusted him, liked him, they barely tolerated him and that was because Lexa made them do it and because the guy was the Flamekeeper, the highest religious place in their faith. But if it was up to them, they could all agree that they wanted him as far away from her as possible, however Lexa had always trusted the man so that had been hard however now it may not be so as Anya remembered their talk about him and how Lexa finally seemed to understand how dangerous Titus could be to her above all.

“ _Don’t you think Heda is simply enjoying her company? The Sky Girl is not ugly, I will give her that. It could be just a simple attraction. We have dealt with too many of those before_ ,” Gustus said, out of the three of them, being the most suspicious of the girl.

“ _Well, at first that is what I thought as well but now, I think is more than that. It’s in the way they look at each other, touch each other even slightly_ ,” Anya said to them.

“ _I think that Heda is falling in love with the Sky Girl and that would be okay if the feelings were retuned. My worry is if the girl feels the same way or is she just playing along to try and manipulate Heda in favor of her people_?” Indra asked the other two and Anya answered.

“ _I don’t think Heda would let herself be manipulated by a pretty face. How many have tried that already, remember?”_ She said to them as they all remembered the period of time when Lexa tried to find solace in many women’s bed and didn’t find anything, obviously.

“ _Besides something tells me that the feeling is mutual. The Sky Girl look at her the same way, even when Lexa is looking somewhere else and doesn’t realize the girl is looking at her. She has the amazed look in her eyes, like she can’t believe Lexa is real_ ,” Anya said to them.

“ _What if it is? What if there really is something serious going on between them? What are we supposed to do with that information?_ ” Gustus asked the women.

“ _Keep it to ourselves and make sure to keep both of them safe. Sooner or later, it will come out and when it does, many things can happen and we will need to protect them from that. If I am right and I believe I am, Lexa will not survive losing someone she loves again. It will destroy her and I’m not sure we can ever get her back_ ,” Anya said to them and they all looked at each other in worry, both of them agreeing with the general.

That was their biggest fear that they would lose her, not to death but to herself. That they would be forced to watch as she died slowly from the inside out, like a poison consuming her until there is no life inside of her anymore and they knew the loss of someone you love is the strongest form of poison for the mind and for the heart. It took them a long time to see her back on her feet after she received Costia’s head and learned of her death, sure she did her duties but outside of the Commander, Lexa was a mess and it took her a long time to recover.

But she finally did it, they couldn’t risk the same thing happening again so Anya turned her horse around and went in search of someone and when she found them, she motioned to follow her and they did until they went back to where she had been. “ _Clive, Mikael, I have a mission for you two_ ,” Anya said to the warriors who nodded at her and at the others.

“ _Yes, general. What is it? We will do it_ ,” Clive asked her and she sighed at them before explaining what she needed from them.

“ _From now on, you will be SkaiPrisa’s personal bodyguards. Wherever she goes, you go. You protect her with your lives, is that understood_?” She said to them and they nodded.

“ _Yes, general. Anything else_?” Mikael asked and she shook her head.

“ _No, just do what you have been asked. Protect her as you would protect Heda_ ,” She said to them and they nodded, “ _You can go back to your places,”_ She ordered them and they nodded before turning their horses back.

“ _You think that will be enough to keep her safe from the many enemies Heda has? Especially one with a thing from kidnapping Heda’s lovers_?” Indra asked her and Anya shrugged.

“ _No, but it’s a start. Until anything is made official, it’s all we can do really_ ,” Anya said to her and the older woman nodded at her as they finally arrived at the Mountain and went to do their duties, some followed the girls, others went to their designated posts.

Meanwhile all of that was happening, inside the Mountain, Maya and Jasper were in the President’s office, which now was Maya’s office, something she still couldn’t believe was her new reality. Truly, ever since the fighting started, Maya hasn’t expected any of the outcomes that have happened to them so far. Her leaders were captured, her home was conquered, the guards have been killed and her people now looked up to her to take care of them and make the decision for them as well. It was all really overwhelming for her.

Luckily, Jasper has been with her every step of the way and she truly didn’t know what would have been of her if she didn’t have him there. He had not left her side since Clarke named her the new president and he has only offered words of support and faith in her abilities as well as offers of help with anything she may need and it was safe to say she was very close to admitting that not only was she in love with him, she loved him very much. He was her first boyfriend but she truly hoped he would be the last. She never wants to lose him to anything.

As she sat on the chair that had been occupied by the Wallace’s, she took a look around the place and noticed the coldness of it all and to think that in this same room stood the man that almost killed her boyfriend and his friends for their bone marrow gave her the chills and Jasper noticed that and spoke, “Hey, it’s okay to be nervous and scared. Hell that is my constant state of mind,” He said trying to joke and get her to relax a little bit and she did.

“I’m so nervous and scared but I was actually thinking about something else that doesn’t matter anymore. Cage is gone, it’s over,” She said firmly to herself and he nodded.

“Yes, he is. Gone. Puff. Disappeared in a cloud of acid fog, hopefully. And now, you’re in charge and you will be an amazing leader because that is your constant state of mind,” He said smiling at her and she couldn’t help but blush at his words.

“The fact that you believe in me so much makes me really happy but I don’t know Jasper. I never thought of myself as a leader, I can barely decide on my own life, much less on the lives of 287 people. How can I be a good leader to them when I don’t know the first thing about the job? I will fail and my people will pay for it. I don’t want that to happen at all,” She said sincerely to him and he moved forward with his arms across the table, reaching for her hands.

“Clarke was also not a leader when she started, when we all fell down to the ground. We were just a bunch of kids who didn’t know how to survive but she turned out to be the best leader and friend we could have asked for. Do you have any idea how hard it can be to lead 100 criminals and reckless kids and make sure they follow you, that they obey you? It was really hard but she did it because she believed in herself and that made us believe in her too. So even if you’re scared, believe in yourself and you will be perfectly fine. Trust me,” Jasper said to her trying to encourage her and Maya nodded at him.

“Yeah, I think I can do try to do that but it will be hard. I’m not exactly the most confident person. It was so hard to even talk to you at the beginning. I don’t know how this is going to go if I can’t find that confidence,” She said to him and he nodded his head in understanding.

“I know and I am not a confident person either but I know you can do it. You convinced people to help you defeat your leaders, you can convince everyone to follow you and besides I will be with you until the end, okay? I won’t let anything bad happen to you,” He said to her and she nodded at him.

“I know. I am very thankful for that. Now, changing subjects before I drive myself crazy with worry, have you talked to Monty or any of the others yet?” She asked him and he shrugged.

“With Monty, yes we talked. He came by earlier to check up on me and all of us. But with the others, more or less. They are all outside and though I talked with them a little, I would much rather stay here with you,” He said to her and she smiled at him.

“Thanks, I don’t know what I would do without you here. You are the most amazing guy I have ever met in my life,” Maya said to him and he blushed a little when there was a knock on the door and they looked at it to see who it was.

Maya made the motion for them to enter and they did, closing the door behind them. “Jasper, you know Meagan and Scoot, right?” Maya said standing up as the twins came close to them and Jasper stood up to great them as well.

“Yeah, I think so. But what is going on? Is there a problem we don’t know about?” He said worriedly as he greeted them by shaking both of their hands.

“Meagan and Scott are part of the new council I’m putting back up. They specialize in diplomacy so I thought it would be good to have their help,” Maya explained to her boyfriend who nodded at her.

“Ah. Cool. Yeah, I can see how having you can help us,” He said to them and she smiled at his antics before motioning for the twins to sit down and she spoke once they did so.

“So, there is a chance that the Commander will want to discuss our situation when she comes here today so I was wondering what would be your advices?” Maya asked them and Meagan was the first to speak up.

“Well, considering that they still hold the cards and still have their army inside and outside, I’m afraid there is not much we can do except argue, if we can. Mostly, I believe they will make the decisions that we will have to obey,” Meagan said to her and Maya was surprised.

“Really? There is nothing we can do that can help us in this discussion? Just listen and obey? That is all we can do?” She asked them and they nodded with Scott taking the lead.

“Yes, all of our soldiers are dead and the rest of the people who are here don’t know how to hold a gun, much less shoot with one. They have four guards, two of each are of the Sky People guarding our armory and we are basically sitting ducks. We are stuck in here, prisoners at our own home, with no means to defend ourselves or to fight for anything except by using common sense and hoping that they will be merciful,” Scott explained the situation to her and Maya nodded her head.

“But you said we can argue, right? We can try to make them agree to some things as well. All we will need will be good arguments that they won’t feel threatened by it, right?” Maya said to them and Meagan nodded.

“Yes, if they want something that is too extreme, we can argue about it, present our points, show them our perspective and see if it sways them or not but that’s it.” Meagan said to her.

“Clarke is close to the Commander and the one who convinced her not to kill the innocents in here. I’m sure she won’t let the Commander make impossible demands. Or at least, she can help make the Commander more receptive of your arguments,” Jasper said to them.

“Well, you think that because she is your friend but to us she is just a stranger who holds our lives on her hands. We have no reason to trust her to do the right thing by us anymore than you claim she already did. They got their people back and conquered Mount Weather, they can do whatever they want with us and that is what has our people currently scared out of their minds,” Scott talked to Jasper before he looked at his sister and then back at their new president, Maya and started speaking to her,

“The people need reassurance that they are being taken care of, that their lives are in your hands not the grounders, even if it is a lie. They need to hear from you that you are working with the enemy to make a deal that will work for us. You, as the President, you need to make them believe they can have hope. Right now, that is the only thing they can hold onto.” Scott said to Maya who looked surprised and looked at Jasper.

“You want me to make an inspirational speech to the people about how I am in control of a situation I have absolutely no control over?” Maya asked him looking back at them and the twins nodded their heads.

“Yes.” Meagan said before continuing, “Sure Clarke made you President by force but no one is at your door demanding that you step down, are they?” The woman said and Maya shook her head. No one so far seemed to be angry with the choice for the role.

“That is because they don’t think is a bad thing that you’re in charge, it means that they believe in you, but you need to earn that belief. You need to take charge of this place and you need to inspire them. Whether you wanted to or not, you are their leader, they will look up to you for guidance, for hope, for safety. It’s a hard place to be but I believe you can do it so now you need to get to level 5 where they are and speak to them about their future even if they might not have one,” Meagan said to her and Maya took a deep breath.

“Jasper? What do you think? Should I do this or not? Can I even do this?” She asked him for his opinion as she was a little terrified of having to speak to everyone and he smiled at her.

“You could definitely do this. You could inspire them. All you need to do is speak from your heart and be honest. They will follow and believe in you,” He said to her and she gave him a small smile and nodded her head making a definite decision.

“Okay, I’ll do it. I don’t know or what I am going to say to them but since you think I should and could do this so I will,” She said to them although she still looked scared at the prospect and the twins nodded and gave her a small smile. They liked her. She seemed to be very different from the previous presidents, especially Cage. And maybe that was just what their people needed to survive this ordeal.

“Very well. Let’s go, it’s better to make one now before the Commander arrives and if everything goes well, we will do another one after they leave,” Scott warned her as they all stood up and walked out of the room together. Until they reached Level 5 and Maya could see the people were gathered together and talking.Scott called out their attention and suddenly they made silence to hear what would be said and Maya got nervous so Jasper squeezed her hand and she started speaking.

“Hi everyone. Uh, things have been pretty crazy lately and we are her together now after what happened these past couple of days,” She looked at Jasper and with his encouragement, she continued.

“It’s no secret to anyone that I was nominated President and I am still trying to learn how to be a leader so forgive me if I am shaking, this is my first public speech and I am absolutely terrified to do it,” She said and some people chuckled gently at that.

“Well, I came to tell you, to remind you that although it seems like the situation is getting harder, we have survived through so much together already and we will survive through so much more. I know that I am not anywhere near close to what I need to become to be a good President for the period of time that I will be taking on the role but I can guarantee you that I will do my best to work with the outsiders to find a solution that allows us to have a future and that I ask you to believe in me, just a little,” Maya said to them.

“Believe me that I want the best for us, that I want us to survive but most of all, that I want to make sure that we deserve to survive. That we are not tainted by the atrocities our previous leaders committed for years. I want us to have a worthy life and I will find the strength within myself to fight to give you that. I will do my best to give us a decent future. I promise you that and although I’m as new to this as anyone else, I promise to help my people as best as I possibly can. We will get through this, we will survive this and we will have a future,” Maya said to them and they applauded her.

After she finished her small speech, some people came forward to shake her hand and to congratulate her on her courage to take what was given to her and make the most out of it. Some even said they admired her for it and all of their praises were coming to her as amazing surprises. She didn’t even think they knew who she was but apparently they did and they liked her enough to trust her in this situation and that was giving her the strength to pull through it and as they were still talking they were warned that the Commander had arrived so they prepared themselves before going to meet with her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, how have you liked the lastest chapter? Cool? Yeha, I know these first few chapters have been more slow paced but it is like this. This part will focus a lot on politics and alliances and how to deal with the aftermath of things and how to deal with the many changes that they have done on the present. But don't worry, there will be some action and some angst in the chapters to come so I am hoping you guys won't be bored. ANyway, I am just finishin writing the last two chapters of this part of the story and I can only give you this spoiler about the final chapters: Lots of tissues. I legit teared up writing chapter 100, I believe its the number and to me, it is the perfect chapter so have I spiked your curiosity?   
> In which case, I would like to happily announce that starting from next week, I will be posting two chapters at once. But for that, you guys need to compromise to comment on both chapters and a lot. Yes, I am blackmailing you kkkkkk. Evil right? It's just that your comments are what encourage me to keep writing, to keep posting and to keep improving so yeah. Anyway, until the next update on Sunday.  
> Kisses, Kisses,  
> Your Author.


	8. Searching and Finding

After the fall of the Mountain and things settled down a little, Clarke had asked her father and Monty to look at everything they could about the place. Security, weapons, surveillance, everything that they could find and so the two engineers were currently working on the task given to them by the young leader. Jake had checked what Monty had done with the missiles and was glad to see that indeed, they were all destroyed which was a big relief for everyone, Clarke had been right when she said that kind of weapon was dangerous in anyone’s hands, including their own so they needed to be destroyed for good so no one could ever use them.

Meanwhile, Monty was checking the security of the place and it was quite interesting and so they talked a lot about it. “Jake, check this out,” Monty said calling for his superior. Jake had been the one who recruited him for engineering before he went to jail with Jasper.

“What is it Monty?” Jake slid over in the chair he was using as he joined Monty to look at the screen of the computer and what had seemed to have surprised the young boy.

“Take a look at that,” Monty pointed at the screen and Jake looked at it and it was a projection 3D of some buildings and it seemed all very pretty until the head engineer looked at the direction.

“Wait a second,” Jake said as he looked closer to it and rang a bell on his head, “Monty, that is TonDC’s coordinates,” Jake spoke out loud and Monty looked at it.

“What is TonDC? I don’t know what you are talking about. I was trapped here, remember?” He asked the older man and Jake nodded his head before answering.

“That is a grounder village near the dropship. But what is this? They had plans for that place? To rebuild those buildings?” Jake asked no one in particular and then Monty typed a few more things on the computer and suddenly a video started playing on the screen and the two of them just watched it.

**_“This is the newly finished plant of the new capital of the world, at least the one of this side of the planet,” They saw Cage showing the project to his father, President Dante Wallace._ **

**_“With the resource we have here, we can rebuild Washington and we can dictate the way of this new world. Think Adam and Eve populating Eden and that will be us, Dad. We will build the world the way we want it to be. We will control everything and everyone. We will be the Saviors of the human race,” Cage said excitedly to his father who just watched him._ **

**_“What about the savages? That is one of their villages. They are not going to simply pack their things and leave willingly, Cage,” Dante said to his son who simply shook his head and smirked at his father as if that was no obstacle for him._ **

**_“They are animals, dad and you know it. We will wipe them out and run them from our lands and we will have it all for ourselves. They don’t stand a chance against us once we get out of this damn Mountain, a few guns, a missile here and there and boom, there are gone and our people will inherit what has always been ours. We will inherit the Earth,” Cage said to his father._ **

**_“You do realize you are talking about mass murdering an entire civilization of innocent people? How is that saving the human race Cage? Their ways may be different from us but they are still human beings,” Dante spoke to his son._ **

**_“You are over dramatizing everything once again, Dad. Your views are outdated and surpassed. You don’t want our people to have what is ours and that they took? We deserved to have Earth to ourselves but instead those savages get to enjoy everything that is denied to us? Why can’t we play on the dirty? Why can’t we feel the rain? Why can they enjoy everything while we are trapped here for all eternity? It’s not right. We deserve the earth and I will make sure that we get it,” Cage said raising his voice._ **

**_“You have gone mad, my son. You have lost your mind in your search for a way out of here. You are talking exactly like the people who throughout history wanted to dominate everything. Do you know how they ended? Dead and scorned, rightfully so. You are becoming like one of them, you already are. You have locked me up here because I dare to have a conscious mind and refuse to kill the Sky People. Kids,” Dante said to him who just turned around._ **

**_“No, Father. I didn’t lock you up here because of that. I locked you here because you refused to save your people, because you refused to do whatever it took to get them out. Something I have no problem with. You wonder if I feel bad about those savages, about those kids? The answer is no, I don’t. I don’t give a damn about them. The only people I care about are my people and if killing every one of them is the way to make sure we are the winners of this war, that we get everything we have always deserved, then I will do it with pleasure,” Cage said to his father._ **

**_“Your mother would be ashamed of the man you have become and I am sorry I wasn’t able to teach you how to be a better person,” Dante said honestly with disappointment clear in his voice and Cage lost at that._ **

**_“She would be alive if you had done to her what I did to you. She didn’t have to know, you just had to give her the blood, if you chose to save her,” Cage said to him with disdain in his voice as he looked at his father._ **

**_“She’d rather die than do that and if I couldn’t help doing it for our people. At least, I would respect the choice of my wife. A choice you denied me,” Dante said to him and Cage just straightened up as he looked at his dad._ **

**_“Then you should have denied her too! If only you had seem how misguided she was to feel for those animals and had done what was best for her, she would have been alive. You were weak and she paid for it but I will never make the same mistake. You should be thankful I did the right thing for me,” Cage yelled at him._ **

**_“And if she was to have survived long enough to see what kind of person you are, she would have wished she had died to avoid the disappointment. You are the one who shames her with your megalomaniac choices. I have done things that have eaten up my humanity but at least I had it to begin with. You don’t. You don’t have an ounce of humanity in you,” Dante said to him and Cage was filled with rage._ **

**_“Yes, I have humanity inside of me, enough to care about the lives of our people more than you ever did. And, now, things are to be done my way and one day, you will look back at this conversation and realize I was right and you will thank me for it,” Cage said to his father who only shook his head._ **

**_“No, Cage. When I look back at this moment, I will realize that the only thing I did was raise a monster and that everything that happens from now on it’s my fault for being weak and not being able to kill you and put a stop to all of this madness because despite everything you’re still my son,” Dante said as he turned his back on his son who just wiped the tear that fell down his face and opened the door._ **

**_“Have a nice day, Father.” Cage said as he walked out and Dante sighed leaning back against his bed_ **

The video image continued on with just Dante in his room pacing around the white space, reading or painting so Monty ended the video as the two of them tried to make sense of everything they had just seem between Cage and his father.

“He was right, you know? Cage was a monster, in and out,” The young engineer said to his mentor and Jake had to agree with the boy.

Hearing all of the plans that Cage had for when he killed the kids trapped inside this place and wiped out the entire population of the grounders was horrible and alarming. How can someone like that be in charge of anything? It was clear it was fated to doom, one way or another. He was glad that they were able to defeat him before he was able to start on any of those plans of his and was glad that he would be dealt with for his crimes.

“Anything else you got there, Monty?” Jake asked the young engineer and the boy  just shook his head, so far there was nothing

“For well advanced people, they didn’t have cameras on the ground, which is why I believe they would send scouts. So we were not been watched by surveillance cameras which is good.” Monty replied and Jake nodded before writing down on the list he was making for Clarke on what they had or not so she could decide what would stay and what would go.

Meanwhile in another sector of the Mountain, Abby and Jackson along with the others dealt with their patients from both sides, which were many. There had been a lot of bad injuries so there was much to be done, thankfully yesterday Clarke helped them a lot but now there was recovery time which was still as dangerous for some of them and anything else which is why was keeping an eye on them while also checking Dr. Tsing’s note on the drug used for the reapers and the bone marrow transfusion she was working on before they won the battle and Abby had to say it was impressive work. Cruel and inhuman but scientifically impressive.

“How could these people do this to another human being Abby? They were doctors, they were supposed to save lives, not turn them into living hell,” Jackson said as he continued to look through the doctor’s notes as did Abby.

“I think they supposed they were saving the lives of those who mattered and therefore everything they did was justifiable. Though just for the record, it wasn’t,” She said to him and he nodded his head. It was cruel what those people did to the grounders for years.

“You know I wouldn’t be surprised if the Commander killed them all with everything her people suffered in their hands. Some of these notes are just horrendous and vicious. Plain cruelty and completely disregard for another human being,” The young doctor said disgusted.

“I know how you feel but those people out there were not a part of it. The ones responsible will be held account and receive grounder justice, whatever that means. I do think that the Commander has seen that redemption for the ones who have survived is not something she can’t give. They have showed her how much they hated what was being done and how much they risked their lives to help her and us so maybe it will be okay for them, for all of us,” Abby said to him and he looked at her.

“You think she will be merciful to them? That she will let them live after everything that happened?” Jackson asked her and she nodded.

“I think that the Commander has shown us to be understanding and from what I have seen of her so far, I think that she can be open to a discussion and to an agreement that will benefit everyone involved and there is nothing more for us to do than to hope that everything works out the way it’s supposed to,” She said to him as they continued to work until suddenly Peter burst in the room.

“Abby, we need help. Some of the patients are getting worse,” He said to her and both she and Jackson jumped out of their chair and went to the room and indeed, since there were so many of them, she could see at least 10 of the patients were getting worse and some were already in a critical condition.

“Okay, Peter, I need you to prepare the surgery room and wheel in the one with the worst condition. You’re with me. Jackson, help Mary treat the others and if any of them need it, go to surgery, you have my permission,” She said and everyone started working around.

“Please, what is going on with my brother? Tell me,” A man asked Jackson as he started to work on the man on the other cot and watched as a patient was wheeled in to the OR and hoped that they would lose more people.

To say that the situation turned into chaos was an understatement. Many of the patients who were okay were asking about the one who were not. Jackson and Mary tried to help and calm them down but it was tough. Abby was still with Peter going in for her third surgery, the first one, a woman didn’t make it and the second one was sent in right away and survived. As for the other two doctors who were taking care of the rest, finally some help came along and, three grounder healers came to join them, Nyko included which alleviated Jackson and Mary’s workload but there was still one too many patients to check, there were about 64 of them.

As soon as the healers joined them, Jackson immediately delegated for each one of them a group of patients to check while he and Mary continued with the one they were already checking on, dividing the work so they could get it done faster and then proceeded to move to check on this grounder warrior, a seemingly tall brunette with long hair and a rugged look but the man just shook his head. Jackson tried again but the man just grabbed his hand before he could do anything and using his other arm pointed at the woman on the cot next to him.

“My sister, check her,” The man said to him with some difficulty and Jackson nodded at him while trying to get his hand off of his grip.

“I will right after I check on you,” he said but the guys just opened his eyes and looked at him and Jackson could help but to be mesmerized by the beautiful hazel eyes he was looking at and despite all the cuts and the bruises, he could tell that the man was very handsome and he felt a flutter erupt in his stomach but he quickly shook those thoughts away, he was a doctor and he needed to do his job.

“Please, she has been sleep for too long. I can’t wake her up,” The guy said and something in his eyes made Jackson nod his head before he moved to the cot next to the man as he felt the guy’s eyes follow his movements as he picked up her charter and saw what had been written on it and sighed.

“Your sister took a blow to the head and has a mild concussion. That is why she is sleeping. She needs time to recover from that but not too much,” He said as he continued to explain to the guy who nodded trying to understand what he was saying, “What is her name?” Jackson asked.

“Her name is Zoey and I’m Zeke,” The man said and he nodded as he took a second look at her. She was 14 years old at most but he had been told it was not uncommon for children that age to fight so he focused on her health.

“Okay, sweetheart. It’s time to wake up. Come on, open those pretty eyes of yours,” Jackson kept saying and slightly shaking her up for about 2 minutes before she finally opened her eyes though she instantly complained about the brightness of the room.

“It’s okay, I just needed you to wake up. Can you tell me if your head is hurting?” he asked and she hummed yes all the while Zeke paid close attention to her, “very well, I will give you something for the pain. Does it hurt anywhere else?” Jackson asked as she told him no.

“Okay, that is very good. You can go back to sleep now. I will wake you up in three hours,” He said to her and she closed her eyes and went back to sleep.

“How is she? Is she going to be okay? Why is she so sleeping so much?” Zeke asked him as Jackson moved over to check on him, this time without resistance.

“When the patient suffers a blow to the head, he usually gets sleepy. It’s a way for the brain to heal itself and it’s okay to let her sleep, we just have to wake her up every three hours to wake sure she is still okay but she should be fine,” Jackson said as he finished checking on the guy.

He then stood up after he was done taking Zeke’s blood pressure and checking his wounds for infections and before he turned around to walk away, he heard Zeke ask him, “What is your name?” Jackson turned back to look at the man and gave him a small smile before answering.

“My first name is Eric but everyone calls me Jackson,” He said and the guy returned his smile which made the fluttering feeling return before he spoke.

“Well, thank you Eric,” Zeke said and the young doctor was a little bit shocked since no one called him that, except for Abby occasionally so he just smiled back at him and walked away wondering who was the mysterious warrior but as he was pulled to another patient, he pushed those thought to the back of his mind before he continued on his work.


	9. Discussion starts

Lexa, Clarke and the others entered the Mountain and started walking in the direction of level 5 which would be where everyone of the Mountain Men would be situated for now, according to what had been previously agreed upon. Clarke took the time to look around the place. In the other life, once she left her people in Camp Jaha, she thought about coming back and burying the bodies of her kills herself, as some sort of penance for the atrocity she had committed to them but she knew that would take her to a point where she wasn’t sure she would be able to return from, mentally speaking and given that one of the bodies was Maya’s, she decided that Jasper and the others should have that chance.

Thankfully, things have gone in a different way than last time. She hated it but Clarke knew that if she had been presented with the choice again, she would have made it and she guessed that was one of the reasons she had been so angry with herself before as well. How could she even think about doing such a cruel thing again and again as many times as it was necessary for her people’s survival? She should think no, that no matter what, after seeing what she had done, not only to the people she had killed but the pain she caused in Jasper and the guilt she placed on Bellamy and Monty, that given the choice, she would never do it again.

Thing is if faced with the scene of her mother being drilled and her friends all tied up ready to die and with Emerson about the blow the door ready to kill her and her two companions, she knew she would pull that lever again, she would kill more than 300 hundred people, she would kill Maya and she hated it. But now as the group finally got to the destination and she sees the people eating and the kids playing around, all safe and sound, she is glad that she was not faced with that choice again. She was glad that both the innocent people of Mount Weather and her were given another chance.

The first person to notice them was some kid who looked a little scared seeing the number of grounders around and once he went to his parents and alerted them, soon enough everyone was looking at the entrance and at the newcomers and Clarke was glad that Lexa had chosen not to wear the war paint today since it made her look quite scary, to other people but of course not to Clarke. Murmurs started and it was obvious that the adults knew exactly who was standing in front of them and they were waiting for the shoe to drop but all Lexa did was put her hands behind her back and survey everyone.

Clarke knew what she was doing by making eye contact with as many people as possible in what it seemed like such a relaxed stance. She was showing that while she was in the prowl to kill them all, that their lives were still in her hands to decide and with a look, she wanted them to know that. She really was a very skilled politician and leader and Clarke was once again in awe of her. Last time, Clarke didn’t have much time to see Lexa in action as a leader since after the massacre Pike committed, her presence in the council meetings were always source for arguments amongst the Ambassadors but now she was seeing her girlfriend in her element and she was sure that Lexa was really born for this.

Lexa made a turn of head towards Anya who was by her side and the woman understood the sign, stepping forward. “President,” She called and Maya stood up along with Jasper, “The Commander wants to speak with you immediately,” Anya said and Maya nodded nervously.

“Of course,” She said and leaned down to whisper to someone who nodded before she made her way towards them with Jasper by her side, along with a man and a woman who Clarke didn’t know following along with her.

“Commander, it is a pleasure to have you here,” Maya said pleasantly and Lexa nodded her head although inside she knew it was no pleasure to be in the place where so many of her people were brutally treated and murdered.

“We have much to talk about in regard to the future of your people and this place. Is there somewhere private we can meet to discuss these issues?” Lexa said politely and Maya nodded.

“Yes, please, follow me,” She said and motioned for them to follow her towards the right and they did. Jasper noticed that she was nervous and moved to hold her hand.

“Relax, everything will be fine,” He whispered so only she could hear it and she looked at him.

“How do you know?” She whispered back, nervous out of her mind about what was going to happen in the next few minutes or however long this discussion lasted.

“I just do, okay? So trust me. I won’t let anything happen to you,” Jasper said to her and she smiled at him, grateful for his words of support.

“Let’s hope that nothing happens to the rest of us either,” Meagan said so they could hear it and Scott nodded agreeing with his sister.

“Hey Clarkey,” Raven called and Clarke slowed down to let her friends join them. Wells was up front talking with his father and Kane so at the back it was only Clarke, Raven and Murphy.

“What is going to happen now?” Wells whispered to her and Clarke sighed as she thought about everything that was at stake based on this meeting.

“The Commander and I want to find a way to make sure that the Mount People can survive now that Cage and the others are gone but the fact that they spent forever hunting and hurting their people may not go so well with the other clans so we need to find a common ground for everyone,” Clarke explained as they made a turn and the other two nodded.

“That will not be easy. Something tells me that the grounders will not be so pleased with anything that doesn’t end with the death of everyone in this mountain,” Murphy said to them and Clarke nodded her head.

“Which is why we are having this conversation already, the longer they wait in this limbo, the worse the situation with the grounder becomes,” Clarke said and he scoffed.

“Let’s just hope we can save their asses a second time,” Raven said and they came to a stop and entered the room, not before Clarke muttered, “Hope is all they have for now,” Then, they entered and there was a round table with a lot of chairs thankfully, enough for everyone.

“Please, Commander. Take a seat,” Maya motioned and stood in place to let Lexa choose whatever seat she wanted. The Commander mentally praised this show of respect and chose her seat not too far from the door and pulled the chair beside her and looked to the group.

“Clarke,” She called and motioned for the chair that she had just pulled back which was the one by her side and Clarke walked up to her.

“Thank you Commander,” She said and sat down and Lexa motioned for the rest. “Take your seats,” She said and Anya moved to seat on her other side with Gustus on her left and Indra to his left.

Raven moved to seat beside Clarke and Murphy sat beside her. Kane moved to seat beside Indra whom she hoped he could be friends with again and Jaha by his side. Wells sat beside Murphy and Jasper beside him with Maya, the woman and the man filling the rest of the seats. Once everyone was seated, Maya cleared her throat and everyone looked at her.

“First, I wanted to introduce you to Meagan and Scott Anderson, brother and sister and part of the new council,” She said and they both gave a nod. “Commander, what is that you want to discuss?” Maya said as she held Jasper’s hand beneath the table to ground herself.

“The future of your people.” Lexa went straight to business mode, “Your people have for years, generation to generation treated mine as animals, capturing us and turning into monsters when they were not drained for their blood. As much as I chose to spare your innocents, it begs the question. Who is innocent?” She said and Maya nodded as Lexa continued.

“My people will have their justice when your fallen leaders and now my prisoners are made to pay for their crimes but that in no way means that we are ready to forgive or forget what was done to them and their families inside these walls,” Lexa said to her seriously and Maya once again nodded understanding what she was saying.

“I am very sorry for what was done to your people by mine and I am sorry that we didn’t stop them before but even though their actions were cruel and monstrous, I hope you can understand that the dream of being free from this place and be able to walk freely on the ground was too good for our people to give up on trying to make it happen,” Meagan said as she looked straight at the Commander with a glint on her eyes that Clarke didn’t like it.

“As a leader, I can understand the want of what is best for your people, but there are some lines that are not meant to be cross. Your people believed mine to be savage, animals, yet we would not do what you did to us,” Lexa looked at her and said it.

“I understand,” Meagan said and gave a suggestive smile to her and Clarke found herself not liking this girl already. She knew that Lexa would never betray her like this, that she would never cheat on her but the way the woman was looking at her girlfriend was bothering her so she decided to meddle in.

“Regarding the Sky People, even though Cage and his followers tried to kill my friends, we have nothing against you. In fact, if not for Maya and the others, we would have never been able to get them back so for that we are grateful,” Clarke said to them.

“We are glad we were able to help you and stop Cage from hurting anymore of them,” Maya said and gave Clarke a smile.

“I believe the situation concerns more our people than it does the Skaikru,” Indra said interrupting the conversation and Lexa nodded.

“It does, however given the nature of our alliance, the Sky People will be of extreme importance to whatever decision we will come up with. Now, President Maya, what can you tell us about the Reapers and the drugs used to turn my people into such monsters?” Lexa said and Maya nodded as if expecting the question.

“We still haven’t been able to go through everything that was on the lab but everything we have got on the drug has been put on a box that is being guarded in a safe which only Jasper and I know the password to. We are more than willing to give it all to you to destroy it yourselves along with the notes on how to make the drug in the first place so it can’t be replicated by anyone, ever again. No one deserves such a fate,” Maya said sincerely and Lexa nodded her head at the way the girl was behaving, quite diplomatic.

“That would be very nice, indeed. And if you wouldn’t mind for my own trusted people to look through this lab of yours to make sure that nothing is left behind, I would appreciate it,” Lexa said and Maya nodded though it was Meagan who spoke.

“We would have no problem with that at all, Commander. In fact, we encourage you to do it so that you can see we are acting in god faith here,” She said and Lexa nodded at the girl and looked at Clarke.

“Who would be an appropriate choice for the job?” Lexa asked Clarke.

“My mom and I can do it. We know what to look for so we can do that,” Clarke said promptly and Lexa nodded.

“Very well, Abby and Clarke of the Sky People will check the drugs,” Lexa said and Maya nodded her head.

“Perfect. Whenever you want, you can go check it out and we will give you everything we have on the red drug. Anything else?” She asked looking at the Commander who nodded.

“Weapons. We have destroyed the ones that could cause mass destructions but you still have weapons, guns, at your disposal. A lot of them if I am correct,” Lexa said and Maya nodded.

“Yes, we do. There is still an armory filled with weapons,” She said honestly since she didn’t think lying would be benefitial for her people at this point and Lexa nodded as if in thought and Jaha suddenly stepped in.

“The Sky People would very much like the weapons and ammunition for our own protection and as restitution for the harm caused by your leaders to our people,” He said and Kane looked at the Commander.

“Thelonious is right. It would be very good for us to have more supplies at the weaponry,” He said looking at the Commander.

“You plan to strip us of the only source of defense we have?” Scott asked them and Kane shook his head.

“No, of course not. But we also have a need for it, especially the ammo,” He said it to the guy.

“With gun powder, Jasper and Raven can make more bullets just like they did in camp when we needed it. Besides, it’s not like we are asking for all of it,” Murphy said.

“Easy for you to say. Those weapons are our only defense,” Scott said and a discussion started between the guys and Clarke turned to look at Lexa and saw that she was whispering something to Anya and the others in what she suspected was Trigedasleng and knew that she was making a decision and if Clarke was honest, her people really could use the weapons but the decision had to be Lexa’s since the Sky People needed to be seen as allies and not enemies so that their plan to make them the 13th clan could work. The discussion continued with even Maya and Jasper butting in until Clarke decided it was enough.

“Hey!” She screamed and slammed her hand on the table stopping everyone and getting them to look at her. “Screaming and arguing won’t get us anywhere. This is not we need right now,” She said and they all relaxed back to their chairs.

“Commander,” Clarke said and the woman looked at her, “I propose that the Sky People get a part of the weapons and the ammunition and the rest of it you can do with it whatever you want,” She said and waited for Lexa to give them the final decision.

“What do you decide, Commander?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, I'm sorry or the disappearance but with the holidays and everything, I was relly busy then I got sick so I had no time to update but I am all good now. But there is a few problems with my computer, it is really old so it is hanging by a thread. I will be buying a new one soon so the updates will not be as frquent as I had hoped for, at least for a while but I will try to update as best as I can. I hope you can understand and thank you for your support. I aprreciate it. Thanks for the comments as well, loved them. Until the next update.  
> Kisses, kisses  
> Your Author.


	10. Final agreements

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys. Missed me? I know. I missed you gusy as well, it's been so long. So to explain, as I had said in the last update, I was having computer problems, and they got worse. my computer wouldn't even turn on so I had to buy a new one but before i could do that, my back started to hurt a lot and my cousin who is a physiotherapist came to check on me and told me that my back, especially the herniated disc area was badly hurt so I have been basically in bed rest for around three weeks now and it still hurting but Ithought I had been away long enough so here I am.   
> Thank you for everyone that waited, all the old readers and the new ones as well. I really aprecciate it. but enough with the sappy stuff, the updates will be happening now, I don't know how frequently since I am still recovering but I guarantee that at least two chapters per week will be uploaded.   
> Without further ado, here it is the new chapter. Hope you enjoy it.

“Your proposition is valid, Clarke and one I find myself inclined to comply. Given their part in helping defeat the tyrants that controlled this mountain and terrorize my people for years, the Sky People will be given one third of what the weaponry of the Mountain Men can offer,” Lexa said with finality.

Clarke was relieved as she could see the irritation on Jaha’s face once Lexa told everyone how many of the weapons they could take for themselves. As if she would let him get anywhere near those weapons so he could what? Do the same thing that Pike wanted to do? No way. Clarke and Lexa had plans to slowly get rid of all weapons like that so that all people would have the same weapons, be it swords, knives, bow and arrows and so on, that way both the Sky People and the Mountain Men could assimilate better to the other clans and the Coalition, for now this would do. As soon as that was settled, and her people got back home, Clarke would call for a vote and get Kane to be Chancellor at all costs.

“As for the other two thirds of the weapons, they will all be destroyed,” Lexa said, as a matter of fact. She was not about to let those weapons get into the wrong hands again. One Pike was good enough for her.

“What about us, Commander? How are we to defend ourselves if we have no weapons at all?” Maya asked scared for the safety of her people.

“It is of my knowledge that all of your warriors have died during the battle. Is that correct?” Lexa asked and Maya nodded as Lexa continued, “and that means that new people must be trained to occupy their places,” She said and once again Maya nodded.

“So the ones chosen for that job will be trained by my people with our types of weapons, swords, knives, spears, that way you can protect yourselves,” Lexa said and everyone was shocked about what she just said, including Clarke.

“Commander, honestly speaking, will your people help train them or actually use that chance to try to kill them?” Wells asked her and Lexa looked at him.

“They will train them but not for free. Once Abby has given your people the treatment I am told you need to walk outside, your people will help mine in whatever way we need it. Keep in mind, you will not be slaves but you will work to earn their forgiveness and their training, or at least their tolerance. If my people can see yours as more than what your previous leaders made you out to be, coexistence may not be so farfetched as we think,” Lexa said to everyone and Maya nodded understanding her words.

“We will gladly help undo whatever damage we have caused to you and to your people,” She said determinately and Lexa nodded her acknowledgment of that.

“Very well. Now, regarding your living settlement, this bunker poses as a distrusting place to my people as well as a reminder of the horrors they have suffered behind these walls. Having you live in here will not placate those fears that any day, you can resume doing what your ancestors did to us or something even worse which is why your people will no longer live inside of here,” Lexa said as they waited for her to continue.

“And given the fact that the Mountain is a territory not claimed by any of the 12 clans, it will be given to you as your territory now, to make your new home, to build your houses and create your own clan on the agreement that you revoke your claim to this place which will have its fate decided later on, whether to be destroyed or turned into a place for all clans to use, maybe as a healing facility?” Lexa said and looked at Clarke in question.

“The place is better well equipped for that than Alpha Station is and if the other clans agree, it could be turned into a hospital for all clans nearby to use should they need it.” Clarke said confirming what Lexa had silently asked her and the Commander nodded her head.

“Which is an idea I will discuss with my Ambassadors once I have returned to my Capitol but for now, the decision regarding this place is that it will be no longer inhabited by your people. I will be speaking with my Ambassador to decided what will be done in regards to where you will be allowed to live but, as soon as a decision is made whether for the good or for the bad, the mountain will be shut down and only I will have the power to open it if I so wish to do,” Lexa said firmly and Maya nodded.

“Thank you Commander. I know that you are being really merciful and understanding given everything, but I do have to ask you something,” Maya said to her and Lexa gave a nod of permission to ask her question, “Will your people seek revenge on mine as soon as we step foot outside of the Mountain?” She asked a little scared for them.

“They would be within their rights if they did that given everything you people did to them and their families and loved ones for generations,” Gustus said as stoic and as angry as ever.

“Then you are not giving us a place to live but giving us a place to be slaughtered. Why not just kill all of us right here and be done with it instead of going through all the work of giving us hope only to have it crushed along with our lives once we set foot outside of this bunker?” Scott said to them, not liking their people’s odds.

“The Commander is still giving you a chance to live despite what your people did to hers, you can’t forget that. It may not be ideal but it’s better than the other options,” Kane said to the boy while his sister replied to that.

“Our leaders are at her hands to do with them as she pleases. We haven’t complained about that, in fact we hate them very much ourselves. We are being compliant with all the demands, we are doing exactly what you want, giving you our weapons, giving you our lives but if what you are asking is for us to go and live outside just to be killed in the open, you can bet we won’t be so compliant then. We are apologetic and understanding, not suicidal,” Meagan said.

“We weren’t in a better position than you are right now when we manage to work with the Commander and her people. If we could do it, so can you. But you can’t expect to not be consequences for what was done by your people in a not so distant past. It’s not just forgive and forget,” Raven said to them.

“However, you worked so well with them because we were the common enemy you both had. And your people didn’t do to them half of what ours did so you are in a better situation than us to coexist safely,” Scott said to the mechanic.

“That doesn’t mean there aren’t people on the Commander’s side who wouldn’t want to see us dead rather than as allies,” Clarke said to them, although she could see and understand where they were coming from.

“Just be glad you haven’t died already,” Murphy said frustrated by it all and the discussion continued as Lexa watched and listened before Anya leaned in to her ear.

“ _What the girl is saying is true, Lexa. We can’t guarantee that our people will not seek retribution for what was done the second they are out in the open. Blood must have blood.”_ The general said to her and Lexa nodded.

“ _And blood has had blood in the battle, Anya. I know of only one way in which her fears wouldn’t be true however it will be a big risk and I need to think a little bit more about this idea I have before I talk about it with you,”_ She said and Anya nodded before Lexa turned to everyone. “Quiet.” Lexa said firmly and everyone stopped and turned to look at her.

“This discussion will not get us anywhere closer to finding a solution to concerns so just stop it. All of you.” She said with all her commander authority as she continued, “Your concerns are true, President. I will admit, such a thing could happen which is why I will return to Polis quite soon and together with my Ambassadors, I will find a solution and return here to present it to you. Meanwhile, Indra will be staying here to oversee that you don’t step over the boundaries that have been set today. Will that be agreeable?” Lexa said and Maya nodded.

“Yes, Commander. We can agree to that,” She said and Lexa nodded.

“Very well. I think we have covered what needed to be discussed now, anything else we will discuss after my return from Polis. As for your people, I would appreciate if you could withhold sharing some of what we discussed from them. Tell as little as possible but what you do share make sure is the best part of the deal so that we don’t have a bigger problems with dissatisfaction. Is that understood?” She said and they all nodded so she stood up.

“Kane, you and Indra will be responsible for keeping watch over them and guards will be stationed in the control room and the lab as well as the weaponry. The Sky People can extract their weapons as soon as possible and Indra will take the rest to be destroyed. Raven can help since I believe her affinity is along the lines of exploding things.” Lexa said and they nodded also standing up.

“Very well, this meeting is over for now,” Lexa said and started towards the door with Anya, Indra and Gustus following her.

Clarke leaned into Raven’s ear to whisper, “Work with Kane. I need to talk to her,” She said and the girl nodded.

“Go, we got your back,” she said and Clarke smiled, giving her a kiss on the cheek before standing up and following the Commander out of the room.

“Well, that didn’t go so bad, did it?” Jasper said looking at Wells who looked at him and chuckled.

“No, Jasper. It didn’t,” He said as he moved over to talk with his father who seemed as if someone had taken the candy out of his mouth as the skinny boy nodded and turned to Maya.

“You’re okay?” He asked his girlfriend as she looked at him and let out a deep breath she seemed to have been holding it in since the start of the meeting.

“Yeah. I think so,” She said as she moved to leave the room along with the siblings who were talking among themselves.

“We should go get the guns now before they try to steal it from us,” Jaha said as soon as the Mountain Men and the Commander’s people started to leave.

“Sorry, Chancellor. Kane gets dibs on collecting the weapons, not you,” Raven said readily for his protests which came as soon as she expected.

“I am the Chancellor. I get to make the calls, not you or Kane, Ms. Reyes,” He said firmly to her who looked unbothered by everything coming out of his mouth as Murphy joined her.

“Doesn’t matter. The Commander chose Kane for the job so unless you want to go against her direct orders and start a problem that you couldn’t possibly get us out of with the grounders, I think is best if you take the bench and let the responsible adults do what needs to be done,” Murphy said sarcastically to the man. He still didn’t like the guy.

“Don’t forget that you are still a criminal, Mr. Murphy. I suggest you watch your tone when talking to me,” Jaha said trying to be threatening but Murphy only looked at him.

“I’m shaking in fear, Big Bad Chancellor. As if you actually has any power left. What a joke, old man,” Murphy said as both he and Raven chuckled and Wells intervened.

“Okay, John, Ray, Dad. That is enough. We don’t need to waste our time with petty discussions between ourselves. John and I will go with Kane to the weaponry and Raven, you should go see if Abby needs help at the lab. The Commander wants those drugs destroyed. And Dad, as Chancellor, you should go and start preparing our people to travel back to Arkadia soon,” He said and the girl nodded.

“Nice plan, Wells.” Raven said agreeing with him and John nodded, agreeing to his plans as well. “I’m in, Junior,” He said.

“That is indeed a very good course of action, Wells. Thelonious,” Kane said and looked at the man who nodded after a while.

“Very well but you get as many weapons as you can, Marcus. Grenades, whatever it is they have,” Jaha said giving Kane unnecessary instructions and the man nodded.

“Of course, I will make the best choices for our people Thelonious. You don’t have to ever worry about that,” He said as an underline sarcastic reply that went unnoticed and the Chancellor nodded before moving out of the room.

“Actually, I think you should go check and make sure daddy dearest really leaves those weapons alone, Junior. Sorry but he doesn’t inspire my trust,” Murphy said to his friend and the other boy nodded sighing.

“Lately, not even mine. See you in the weaponry in 10 minutes,” Wells said before he left the room going after his father, leaving the other three alone in the room.

“I have to say the Commander really knows what she is doing, especially where the weapons are concerned. Making sure that they don’t have access to those kinds of weapons really takes the advantage they had over the grounders,” Raven said as they moved out of the room.

“And only giving us one third of what they have also stops us from having the same arsenal we had last time and it takes the advantage Pike had before,” Kane explained to them who nodded their heads thinking about the psychopathic teacher.

“Do you think that the bastard will be a problem again once he and his goons from Farm Station gets rescued whenever that happens?” Murphy asked and Kane sighed.

“Thelonious is proving to be a problem even without ALIE, so yes, John, I do think that once Charles and Farm Station returns that they will be a problem. Luckily, this time we will have Clarke and Lexa on our side to deal with them and maybe stop the same events from happening again.” He said at the boy and Raven nodded.

“Amen to that, brother,” They gave a small chuckle at what the mechanic said before they parted ways and Raven went in the direction of the lab quickly finding it.

She saw Abby, Jake and Jackson talking and opened the door. “Need a hand, doc?” She said and they all looked at her.

“Raven, what are you doing here?” Jake asked his pupil seeing her arrival.

“Oh, you know, boss. Meetings with the Commander and yours truly, Miss Clarke Griffin. The usual.” She said.

“Clarke is here?” Abby asked her daughter’s friend and Raven shook her head.

“Was. I think she is going back to camp to finalize some details with the Commander but in the meantime, I have much to tell you about what we discussed in the meeting so buckle up,” She said before she started talking.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, don't forget to comment. It means a lot to me to read it, as long as it is respectful. i hope you enjoyed it and that you ar eliking where it is going, I guarantee there is still a lot of things to come, including some angst soon enough so be preapred as we will be diving in deeper into this story.  
> Kisses, Kisses,  
> Your Author.


	11. Trust issues?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, I have a new story out so if you guys would like to check that out, i would appreciate it. My other story, I will be posting a new chapter tomorrow so stay tuned for that as well and if we get enough comments, I may start a daily update of this one. It is up to you. Check the notes in the end for a few spoilers about some future facts of this story.  
> Without further ado, here is the chapter. Hope you enjoy it.

ing

Bellamy and Finn had followed Clarke’s instructions and as soon as she and the others went inside the Mountain, they made their way towards the place where their friends that were rescued were resting down and waiting for the directions to be given about when they would be able to go back home, wherever that was now. Finn had been impatient during the walk, always looking behind him and towards the Mountain as if wanting to be in there and Bellamy already took a guess to bet exactly why that was. It appeared that the feeling was intensifying because Finn was getting more disrupted by it until he spoke towards Bellamy.

“We should be inside there with them, in that meeting, helping,” Finn said and Bellamy turned to look at him.

“There are too many people inside already and there is nothing we can help them with that Clarke and the others can’t get done by themselves so let’s focus on helping our friends and let the leaders make the decisions, okay? Relax,” He said and Finn looked up ahead and sighed.

“I know. I know. It’s just.... I’m nervous about what will be decided, you know? Are they going to kill everyone or not? If not, where will they live? Those questions.” He said out loud as he sighed and Bellamy nodded.

“So am I but we got to trust them. Clarke, Raven, Murphy and Kane will make sure the innocents survive,” He said and Finn nodded as they kept walking in silence. Bellamy took a look around and he could see some of the grounders that had been rescued and without thinking about, he started searching for someone, the person who helped him escape and without having to look that much, he found her.

Echo. She was sitting around talking with some of the other grounders and as if feeling his eyes on her, she turned to look and found him. Their eyes were locked in one another and she offered him a small smile and he returned it as he heard Finn calling his name, “Bellamy, hey, what you looking at?” He asked the older guy and Bellamy turned to look at him.

“What? Nothing,” He said and cleared his throat. Finn took a look behind him and could see a girl looking at them, more precisely at Bellamy and smirked.

“Joining the Grounder pounder club, huh? One more Blake to the team,” He said and Bellamy turned to him with a frown on his face.

“What the hell are you talking about Finn? Did you hit your head somewhere?” He asked pretending not to know what the younger guy was talking about.

“The grounder girl, the one you were looking at. The one who is burning a hole at the back of your head with how hard she is staring at you,” Finn said and Bellamy shook his head.

“I wasn’t looking at no one.” Bellamy said. He had been searching for her and he couldn’t exactly pinpoint why that was given they didn’t know each other or anything like that but the fact that she helped him and he came back for her meant something to him and he had no idea why.

“Oh, come on, man. We can at least talk to each other about this, right? You know about my feelings for Clarke, you were there when she rejected me, why can’t I know about your grounder girl?” He said and Bellamy sighed.

“She is not my grounder girl, okay? She was just in the cell next to mine and helped me escape, that’s all,” He said dismissively hoping the other guy would drop but with no such luck.

“Uhuh. Yeah, I can see that is all there is to it. That’s exactly why she’s still looking at you even when your back is to her,” He said and Bellamy cleared his throat nervously before he asked.

“She still looking at me?” He asked a tad shyly and Finn nodded finding it very entertained the sight of a flustered Bellamy, who is always trying to pose as the tough guy.

“She sure is. I am telling you, I think she likes you too,” Finn said and Bellamy almost had a small smile on his face before he shook his head and focused ahead.

“It doesn’t matter. Nothing is going to happen and we should be focusing on our mission here,” He said before he fastened his pace to get closer to their friends.

“We are not done talking about this. You are not going to run away from this Bellamy Blake,” Finn said as he caught up with him.

“Bellamy, Finn. Over here,” They heard Harper’s voice as she called to them and got the others attention. Both guys immediately had a smile on their faces and were greeted with hugs by everyone. It wasn’t a big group but luckily in the time they were captured to the time they were released, they didn’t lose too many.

“How are you guys doing?” Bellamy asked them as they got settled and had a chance to really come in contact with all of them.

“Good to be out here instead of being locked inside that place waiting for when they would come for you,” Nathan said sincerely and the others nodded.

“Yeah, I know. I was only in there for a few days but it was enough to miss everything there is out here. Even the dangers,” Bellamy said to them with a small smile and they nodded before they started to sit down again.

“What are you guys doing here?” One of them, a guy named David asked.

“Clarke thought it would be a good idea for us to come here and check with you guys if everything is okay or if you need anything we can help with,” Finn explained.

“We want to go home,” Someone said and the others agreed and Bellamy nodded his head.

“And we will, as soon as Clarke and the others gives us the green light, we will take you guys back to Arkadia but for now, it’s best if everyone is here just in case,” Bellamy explained.

“What is this Arkadia?” Harper asked them confused by the name and the boys smiled.

“It’s the name of the camp we built around Alpha Station not too far from here and where all of our people is, at least the ones that have been found alive so far, though more are being found,” Finn explained and they nodded.

They continued on talking about how things have been since the fateful night by the dropship, the boys told them about how Tristan survived and captured them about how they were rescued and taken to Arkadia to questioning, everything including the truce with the grounders which was a shocking news for them given that the last time the kids had seen them, they were trying to kill them. The other kids were eager to know of everything they missed while trapped inside the Mountain which they also talked about with the boys, how they thought they were both dead and how Clarke escaped and how Jasper and Monty took charge of things just the way she had asked them too.

Sure enough, a good amount of time has passed before Nathan noticed Jaha coming their way and pointed out to the rest of the group. Bellamy and Finn stood up and so did the others. “Chancellor.” Bellamy greeted him with a little of respect despite his personal feelings towards the man and Finn did the same although the rest of the 55 were not so welcoming.

“Blake, Collins. Everyone, I came to here to tell you to gather your stuff, everything you are taking with you because we are going back home,” Jaha said to them and they were shocked but mostly happy to be finally leaving this place.

“It’s okay for us to go back now?” Bellamy asked the older man and Jaha nodded his head although he didn’t seem to have a happy look on his face, more of a frustrated one which made the boys wonder what had happened to the Chancellor in that meeting?

“Yes, Marcus and the others are following the orders given by the Commander and will be staying a little longer but the rest of us will be leaving today, as a matter of fact, I would like to be ready to leave as soon as possible. So gather everyone and meet me back at the entrance of the Mountain so we can start our way back towards Arkadia,” He said very firmly and Bellamy nodded his head.

“Yes, sir. We will do just that,” He said and Jaha nodded before leaving in the same direction as he came. Bellamy and Finn turned to them.

“Well, you heard the man. It’s time to go home,” Finn said and they all cheered before hugging each other and sporting this huge ass smile on their faces.

“Okay, get everything and let’s go,” Bellamy said and they did just that.

The little they had with them, they gathered and within no time at all were ready and Finn started leading them down the path with Bellamy on the rear of the group. They were talking amongst themselves attracting the attention of the grounder that were nearby but so far, there was no trouble between them at all which was good.

They were passing by when Bellamy heard his name being called and turned around to see Echo coming his way. He stopped and waited for her to catch up to him and soon enough she was right in front of him. He could see she was looking better and wearing better clothes than the rags they were given inside.

“What is going on?” She asked him as she looked at the people walking behind him and he looked back at his group.

“We have been cleared to go home so we will be leaving now,” He answered her before turning back to look at her and she nodded.

“You’re looking healthier.” He said to her with a small smile and she nodded.

“The Commander has been providing us with a lot of food to gather our strength back so we can go home to our clans as well,” She explained to him and he nodded.

“I wanted to thank you for helping me when we were caged. I don’t know if I would have made it out alive if it wasn’t for you helping me kill that guard,” He said to her and she looked at him.

“You came back for us so it is only fair I Thank you as well., I guess. I am not very good at this, being grateful, not exactly a virtue cultivated in my clan,” She said to him and he nodded.

“Well, I promised I would came back. I wouldn’t break my promise to you,” He said and she looked intensively at him.

“Not all those who make promises, keep them in the end,” She said as a matter of fact, as if she had experienced that before and he nodded.

“I do,” He said firmly to her, hoping she would believe that he wasn’t the type of people to do that and she gave him a small smile which was a rare thing for her.

“I know that now and I won’t forget,” She said to him and they just kept staring at each other before he heard Finn calling his name.

“Bellamy, let’s go,” The younger guy called out for him and Bellamy turned to look at him nodding before turning back towards Echo.

“I have to go. I have to make sure they get home safely. Will I ever see you again?” He asked her and she gave him a small chuckle.

“Something tells me our paths will cross each other again. Sooner than we think,” She said and he gave her a small smile in return.

“I would like that very much,” He said to her and offered his hand to her and she grabbed his forearm as it was her custom greeting.

“May we meet again, Echo kom Azgeda,” Bellamy said to her smiling at her as she smiled back at him before she nodded her head.

“May we meet again, Bellamy kom Skaikru,” She said to him and he nodded before letting go and continuing his walk towards his friends as she watched him go before going back to join her people.

Meanwhile, Clarke followed Lexa out of the Mountain and called for her. Lexa stopped and turned around to wait for Clarke to catch up to her while she sent Anya, Indra and Gustus ahead so they could talk privately and they did as asked. Clarke came towards her and Lexa put her arms behind her back. “Lexa, we need to talk about the meeting and what you said,” Clarke said as she came closer to her girlfriend.

“I understand that you have many doubts about my plans and what you don’t know about it but now it’s not the best time for this talk about it. We will discuss it later, okay?” Lexa said and Clarke got a little angry at that.

“This is not a dictatorship, Lexa. You don’t order me around and I don’t do the same to you either. We are equals, you can’t just brush me off as if I was anyone else,” Clarke said to her crossing her arms over her chest and Lexa took a step closer and spoke lowly.

“I am not brushing you off or diminishing your own authority but look around us, Clarke. All my warriors are here, is the door of the Mountain really the right place to have this discussion?” Lexa said to her staying calm about it and Clarke did look around and there were many warriors around them or close enough.

“You may be right but you are not deciding this by yourself. We are supposed to be a team and you are making decisions without talking to me about it first. All I am asking is that you keep on the loop, if you’re going to give weapons to my people, you tell me about it. We had a chance to talk earlier but you didn’t mention anything about it. Am I asking for too much?” Clarke said and Lexa shook her head.

“I’m not purposely keeping you out of anything that is being decided Clarke but, in meetings like this, some things go differently than what you had planned and concessions have to be made in the spot. The weapons were one of those, that’s all. I promise,” Lexa said before she looked behind her to see Anya signaling for her.

“Clarke, I need to go now. I must meet with my generals right now, can we leave this discussion for later? When we are back in camp?” Lexa said and Clarke looked over her shoulder to see Anya.

“What are you meeting them for?” Clarke asked her curios and a little bit of reluctance and Lexa answered.

“The Mountain, the battle, your people, everything,” Lexa said and Clarke looked back at her.

“If it is about my people, then I should be there,” Clarke said and Lexa shook her head.

“It’s not a good idea.” She said to the blonde and Clarke crossed her arms and frowned.

“How the hell is that a bad idea?” Clarke asked her getting a bit worked up and Lexa sighed.

“It’s better if I talk to them first to see where they stand in regards to your people so that I can assess what is better to make sure there are no problems and I can’t do that if you’re there, contesting everything they say.” Lexa explained and Clarke sighed and shook her head.

“But Lexa…” Clarke started saying before Lexa interrupted her.

“Really Clarke, how hard is for you to trust me? I know that I betrayed you once but I thought we had moved passed this when I made the vow to protect your people. I am still following that vow. Why must you keep doubting me?” Lexa said to her already irritated and before Clarke could say anything, they heard Bellamy calling for her.

“Look, I have to do this and we will talk later, okay? Now you should see what he wants,” Lexa said before she turned around and walked away from Clarke before the blonde could say anything and all she could do was see the girl’s retreating back as Bellamy finally came to her side.

“Hey, is everything okay with you two?” He asked her and as she looked at Lexa entering a tent followed by Anya, she shrugged her shoulders with a sigh of defeat before she answered him.

“I don’t know and I don’t know if I want to find out.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys. Thank you for your kind words about my issue, I am really grateful. Thank you so much for not giving up on me or this story, that means a lot. Now, for some issues to be tlaked about. There may only be a Ranya friendship since my endgame is SeaMechanic and yes, I know there is Derick, that will be adressed in time. Yes, I am also a Becho shipper, I think that they could be really good together, espcially if given the chance so they will be together. For now, I think that is all. I would like for you to comment a lot so that I can update more often. I love reading your comments so please do it a lot, always respectfully, please. Until the next update.  
> Kisses, kisses  
> Your Author.


	12. Greed plus Jealousy

After helping Kane for a while with selecting the weapons they would take back with them, courtesy of the Commander, Wells decided that it was best if he went to check on his father to make sure that he wasn’t creating any problem with the grounders or with their own people so after leaving the Mountain, he went in search of his dad and he found Jaha where his friends were and he went to talk to him. “Hey, Dad,” He called out to the man as he approached the guy who turned to him with a smile on his face.

“Son, I thought you would be helping Kane with gathering our new weapons,” Jaha said to him and Wells came to his side as he shook his head.

“I was but I decide to come and speak to you first. What were you doing?” He asked and Jaha looked behind him before looking at his son again.

“Well, I came to speak with Bellamy to get the kids that were trapped to gather their stuff so that we could leave today.” Jaha said and Wells smiled.

“That is very good, Dad. I think they had enough of this place and are ready to go home, right?” Wells said and Jaha nodded but his face wasn’t really good and Wells noticed, “Is there a problem Dad?” He asked and the older man nodded.

“Yes, I need to reassert myself as the leader of our people, son. They all seem to think that Clarke is better at it than me and they all look up to her to make the choices for them and that is my job. I am the elected Chancellor, they should be doing that to me. I need to regain my position or else,” Jaha said but didn’t continue. He didn’t have to. Wells sighed.

“Dad, there is a reason why our people are doing that and that is because Clarke always deliver it. She always saved them and made the best choices for them,” Wells said to the man as he continued, “I’m sorry Dad but I really don’t think you would have managed to get a truce with the grounders so that we could work together with them. I don’t think anyone, but Clarke would have been able to do it. Not so soon after we killed 300 of them. Clarke is a natural leader and people trust her because they know they can. I don’t know if they are ever going to stop looking at her for guidance so maybe it’s best if you simply try to work with her the way it is instead of trying to start a fight you might not win,” Wells said and Jaha shook his head.

“You don’t understand the importance of this, son. But when you’re Chancellor, you will. There is danger to be in a situation like this and it’s not good to be tossed aside like nothing. Besides, I have been a good chancellor and I would have gotten a truce with them if I had been given the chance but once again, Clarke beat me to it, monopolizing the situation and now even the grounders think that she is the Sky People’s leader. I don’t like that at all,” Jaha said before he looked at Wells and spoke, “Maybe you can help me, son,”.

“Me? Help you? How would I even do that?” Wells frowned as he asked although he wasn’t sure he even wanted to hear the answer to that question, his father was getting worse than he had previously thought.

“Tell me everything about Clarke as a leader, what she does, what she says, everything. See if I can find a flaw and get the people back on my side.” He said and Wells looked at his father with distrust and with a bit of shock.

“You realize that you’re basically asking me to betray my friend,” He said struck by how far his dad was going down this greedy road for power and Jaha nodded.

“To help your father win this battle? Absolutely. I need your help and that involves betraying your friend but it will be okay,” Jaha said and Wells shook his head.

“Well, I won’t. Not now, not ever,” He said firmly to his dad. “Clarke is my oldest friend, my best friend. I would never betray her, especially not so you can get more power. If you really were the good Chancellor you claim to be, you wouldn’t be trying to fight her for power, you would just be happy that your people are in good hands. Her hands. Seriously, Dad. Clarke has saved our lives ten times over and all you want is to compare to see who is the most powerful leader, who has the biggest number of supporters and you want me to help you do that to her? Never in a million years,” Wells said and Jaha looked at him.

“So you are choosing to help her over your own father? You are choosing to betray me? Is that what you want to do?” He asked and Wells nodded his head firm in his resolve.

“If my father is a power-hungry jackass who doesn’t seem to care about anything but how much power he has, then you can bet that betraying you is exactly what I am going to do and without remorse,” Wells said taking a deep breath before he continued, “Are you even listening to yourself Dad? All you want is your power and authority back, you are not giving a damn for the greater good of our people. I don’t recognize this man that is in front of me. Clarke is a good leader and seeing you like this, I can’t say I don’t get why people prefer her to you. Because they all know that they are well taken care of with her and you only care about yourself. What is wrong with you, dad?” Wells said and the man shook his head.

“You don’t understand, son,” Jaha said and Wells nodded.

“You can bet that I don’t and I never want to. You sound crazy, Dad. You need to rethink this immediately. Be better than this, please. I don’t want to have to fight with you,” Wells said before he walked away from his father in search of his girlfriend and it didn’t take long before he found and walked towards her, sitting down beside her as he kissed her and she immediately noticed his mood.

“What happened?” Jessica asked as she hugged him trying to offer any sort of comfort, as best as she could. He sighed leaning forward on the log they were sitting at.

“My father happened,” He said shaking his head, still trying to wrap his mind around what he had just heard come out of that man’s mouth and she sighed.

“Isn’t it always? I swear that man keeps making you feel this way. But tell me, what did he do now to get you like this?” Jessica asked him and he answered.

“He seems to be obsessed by power. He can’t accept that Clarke is being seen as our leader and he keeps trying to get the power back and he asked me to help him. He asked me to betray my best friend just so he can be more powerful among our people and the grounders. What the hell is wrong with him?” Wells said and he held on her hand, Jessica could only scoff.

“I am sorry babe, but you are asking the wrong person. We talked about this before. You know what I think of him and I only tolerate him because he is your father. I have to say having him in your life is your biggest flaw but despite that, I still like you so I put up with it but I have to admit your father is a nutjob,” She said and he smiled.

“Well, he is even worse now. I’m telling you it’s like he can’t accept that the people are depending more on Clarke than on him. I mean, so what? What should matter isn’t that Clarke is doing an amazing job so far and our people are surviving and working towards a future down here? Why must he keep fighting for power instead of supporting Clarke? I don’t recognize that man. He is not the one who raised me, who would tell me that the survival of our people was always more important than egos and one person alone,” Wells explained to his girlfriend.

“It’s simple. With other competitors, your dad was in equal ground, he knew them, they were the same age and he could fight them on his own term. Clarke is different, she is a wild card that people are trusting blindly, much more than they ever trusted him and I don’t think he is too thrilled for that. I think he is feeling useless. What use is of a Chancellor if he doesn’t do anything? If he is not sought out to solve anything? If someone else is the leader?” Jessica spoke her point of view and Wells turned his head to look at her.

“Yeah, you’re right but does it really matter who is in charge? Shouldn’t he be worried about our people instead of the amount of power he has? Clarke is taking good care of all of us, she is doing a good job, shouldn’t that matter the most to anyone, himself included?” Wells asked her still not understanding what was wrong with his father and she nodded.

“It should and deep down, he might be grateful for what she is doing. I think he is only jealous he isn’t the one doing all of that. He is jealous that it isn’t him the one our people trust to keep them safe but Clarke. He needs to get over himself,” Jessica spoke and Wells shook his head.

“I don’t think he will anytime soon and that makes me afraid of what he might do to Clarke to get the power back. How far he is willing to go for it, you know?” Wells said worriedly.

“Whatever it is he is planning, we will support Clarke and help her in any way we can, right?” Jessica said to him and he looked at her and nodded his head smiling.

“Right.” He said before he leaned in and kissed her. Jessica readily kissed her boyfriend back, she wished that he wouldn’t have to worry about fighting his dad to defend his friend but from what he had told her, she didn’t think it would be any different than that.

Meanwhile, in another part of camp, Bellamy was talking to Clarke after Lexa had simply walked away as soon as he had approached them. “Well, Finn and I were with the others like you asked and they are okay, just so you know,” He told her and she relaxed.

“I’m glad to hear that. I was afraid that they would be too damaged from what they suffered inside that place,” She said and he nodded before he continued,

“Yeah, but then Jaha came along and suggested that we start packing our stuff to leave back to Arkadia and I came to talk to you to see what you wanted us to do?” Bellamy asked her.

“Well, I’m sure they’re ready to leave this place behind and go home but it would be a good idea to check with my mom first. I know it would be too much to ask them to donate their bone marrow to the Mountain Men but we need people to do it or else, they will be forced out and that can mean their death,” Clarke said to him.

“The Commander isn’t allowing them to stay here?” Bellamy asked her as he was curious for what was discussed in the meeting and Clarke shook her head.

“She wants them out of the Mountain either way. Said her people could never trust them if they stayed inside. Do you think that we could convince people to donate?” She asked and he seemed to think about it for a while before nodding.

“I think that with the right words, we could convince them, but our friends are weak right now, maybe it would be better to try and convince the others from Arkadia who are better rested,” Bellamy said to her and she nodded.

“Yeah, you’re right and I think I know exactly who to ask for that task. My Dad can get the people to see reason and do the right thing even if it is to help some of the people who kept their children locked up. Besides, Charlotte has been alone long enough. With mom staying here, she needs one of them to be with her,” Clarke explained it to him and he nodded.

“I think it is a great idea. The people respect your Dad. They will surely follow what he tells them to do. Will you talk to him now?” Bellamy asked her as she nodded her head.

“Yes, that way he can go with you and can sent some people tomorrow morning already,” Clarke said and he nodded as she said goodbye to him and started on her way back towards the Mountain in search of her father. But despite everything that was on her mind and everything she had to do for the sake of her people, the truce with the grounders and the well-being of the Mountain Men, her little argument with Lexa wouldn’t leave her mind, she hoped they could calmly talk about it before it got bigger and they started to really fight over this.


	13. Seeking Advice

After leaving Clarke and their small argument which left the brunette not in a very good mood, Lexa went to her tent so she could first to talk to Anya, Gustus and Indra before she asked for the other generals to join them so they could start the meeting about what would happen next for everyone involved in this. She wanted to get them notified first as well as hear their advices before any decisions were permanently made. As soon as she got inside the tent, Anya spoke up. “ **Lexa, how sure are you of what you are doing?** ” She asked her former second and Lexa looked at her making her way to her throne.

“ **What exactly are you talking about, Anya? I don’t understand** **your question so please explain yourself** ,” Lexa asked her former first and the general looked at her.

“ **You are being very merciful to those people and I don’t think it’s a very good idea. It may not end well with our people to see you show mercy to the same people who tortured and hunted ours for generations** ,” Anya explained what she was talking about.

“ **Anya is right, Heda. How do we know if we can trust them? How do we know that this isn’t a trick for us to lower our guard down so they can attack us and kill us all?** ” Indra said her suspicions out loud seeing that the moment to do so was now and Lexa shook her head.

“ **We are not trusting them, we are trusting ourselves. The situation and the battle were solved without the need for innocent blood to be spilled, why change that now? Isn’t it better to have them with us then against us?** ” She asked them.

“ **The three of us have been with you since the day one and we all know to recognize that look by now. What exactly are you planning to do with them?** ” Gustus asked the young leader. It is not that he didn’t trust her, but he worried about her and for anyone trying to use her for their own gain. He was her bodyguard and it was his duty to protect her.

“ **I have an idea but like I said, I can only discuss it with you after I have a chance to formulate a plan to execute that idea but trust that I am doing what it’s best for our people. We have been witnesses to the power the Mountain possessed but that power is gone now. However, more than 300 people are not, they are still here. There are children, elders, innocents, people who helped us. They risked their lives and their survival to help us win the battle against their own leaders** ,” She said to them.

“ **What I am thinking about is a way to make sure that we can live in peace and without blood being spilled unnecessarily which is the same motive I had to create the Coalition, to make peace even with the Ice Nation after everything they did to our clan. It’s the same thing. Now, we have their leaders in our custody, don’t we?** ” She asked Indra who was responsible for the prisoners and the older woman nodded her head.

“ **Yes, Commander. The Mountain leaders are still imprisoned like you asked. We have guards around the clock to make sure that they don’t escape and that no one tries to kill them before they can face their trials** ,” The older woman answered.

“ **Very well. They will get to pay for what they have done to us and our people will have their justice. Why do we need kill everyone then? See, there is no point in that,** ” Lexa asked them.

“ **What about exiling them? Couldn’t that be an option?** **After the doctor cure their, they could leave with orders to never come back. It could be the perfect solution for this problem, Commander,** ” Gustus asked her and she nodded.

“ **Yes, it is a very good option and it’s my second choice if what I have in mind doesn’t work out but either way, they will not pose a threat to our people any longer, their weapons have been destroyed, half of their guns will be destroyed as well. We are safe and I am making sure we stay that way. I do know what I am doing** ,” Lexa said and Anya seemed to be deep in thought before she spoke up.

“ **You’re thinking about getting them to join the Coalition, aren’t you?** ” She asked and Lexa was surprised. Yes, that was her idea. “ **If you need to speak with the Ambassadors first, it’s the only possible explanation I can find for it** ,” Anya said and Lexa nodded.

“ **Indeed Anya, that is what I want. I want the Mountain Men to join our Coalition and become a part of our people** ,” She said and the other two were shocked.

“ **Commander, that is too dangerous. Not only for them but for you as well. The people won’t accept it** ,” Gustus said in deep worry for the young girl’s safety should she go through with said idea of accepting that people into their lives like this.

Indra nodded in agreement with Gustus’ words. “ **The Ambassadors will not accept it and they may even try to use the vote of no confidence to get you out. Especially Oscar, once he finds out. He will try to instigate the others to do just that** ,” The older general said.

“ **They will once I have spoken with them. Don’t you see that this is the same as when the Azgeda joined?** ” Lexa said as she continued, “ **None of our people wanted them in the coalition. Not a single clan spoke in their behalf but with them joining in, there haven’t been attacks against Trikru or any other clan and why? Because Nia knows that she couldn’t fight against the Coalition and she doesn’t have many allies with the other clans. The Mountain men will be the same** ,” She explained to them.

“ **None of us trust them and we shouldn’t, at least not until they have earned that trust. But by getting them to join us, we can keep an eye on them, monitor their actions, avoid further conflict and finally have peace without the fear of them attacking us. With their weapons gone, they will train with ours, and even if they were to attack, just the Trikru warriors would be superior to them in the battle field and we would easily win. They pose no threat to us. I made sure of that,** ” Lexa explained to them and they seemed to consider her words.

“ **If you’re planning on getting the Mountain Men to join the Coalition, it is safe to assume that the Skaikru will be joining as well?** ” Gustus asked her and she nodded.

“ **The Sky People are a very good addition. Their healing techniques far weigh our own, they have much to contribute to the Coalition and much like the Mountain Men, they would be more or less, incapable of going against us,** ” Lexa said to them as they looked at each other.

“ **Look, I understand that all of you have your concerns about my ideas on what course to choose to take care of this situation and I’m not asking you to be happy about it or even to agree with it because I can understand that is hard to do that now but trust me. Trust me that this is the best thing for our people or else I would be the first to get rid of them** ,” Lexa said to them and they nodded.

“ **We do trust you, Commander and you have our support like always, but I must warn you that if it was difficult to accept the Ice Nation and with the only thing stopping us from declaring war on them is you, it will be even harder to accept the Mountain Men after everything and every loss our people suffered in their hands and in the hands of those that came before them** ,” Indra said and the other two nodded.

“ **I know that, Indra. But I truly believe we can build the peace our people deserve, we can finally focus on something besides war. We can focus on more than just surviving, we can live. I’m not giving up on that on the first sign of trouble. I swore to do what was best for my people always and I will honor that oath. I just need to know if you three are with me** ,” She said to them and they nodded.

“ **Until the end, kid**. **You need us to keep you safe from all the crazy idea you have? Do you know how many times you would have died if it wasn’t one of us saving your ass? Please, you couldn’t last three seconds without us guarding your back,** ” Anya said and Lexa smiled.

“ **Yes, I know and as I tell you three, I will forever be grateful for all those times you have been there for me, one way or another. You all took care of me and I consider you to be part of my family. And it is very good to hear I have your support because now, I need to convince the generals** ,” Lexa said sighing and they all knew how well that was going to turn out so all they need was nod at her.

“ **How difficult do you guys think is this conversation going to be?** ” Lexa asked them and the three warriors looked at each other as if reading each other’s thoughts before they turned back to look at her and she sighed getting a read of their expressions.

“ **To be honest Commander, I think you should be really careful the moment you step foot inside that tent. We may have understood why you have chosen a softer approach to dealing with the Mountain Men. Choosing not to kill the innocents, sparing their lives, helping the Sky People cure them, allowing them to come out of that place and make a clan for themselves here but I don’t think for a second that the other clans’ generals will be so understanding and will stand by those decisions,** ” Indra expressed her point of view to Lexa.

“ **Indra is absolutely right, Lexa. Those bastards in there will be gunning for your blood. It’s what they already do on a good day, now, they have all the reasons to try to force your hands one way or another. They will most likely try to rile you up with foul words and accusations, try to get you cornered exactly where they want you,** ” Anya said to her.

“ **I believe that they will this as an excuse to challenge you to a fight. In their place and with their mindsets, it is exactly what I would do. Especially since they will outnumber you. So you better go into that tent, prepared for that,** ” Gustus said to her and Lexa sighed.

“ **Clarke is not going to like it one bit. If they challenge me, I will be forced to accept and fight them in front of everyone. She will most likely try to do something to stop it,”** Lexa said to them, knowing she could trust them to know the true nature of her relationship with Clarke.

“ **She can’t. If the Sky Girl interferes, it can get even worse for you in the eyes of our people. If she has any plans to be with you in the long run and more important lead with you, she will have to make concessions such as these so she can get the respect of the people so they will follow her like they do with you so she better start learning what it means to be with you now, rather than to be caught by surprise later on,** ” Anya said and Lexa nodded.

“ **I know but I was hoping I could avoid worrying her this way for a little longer. Clarke is not used to our customs and it may take a while for her to completely adapt to them, although I doubt that will ever happen but either way, I was hoping I could ease her to it before having her see such a thing as a challenge like this,** ” Lexa explained to them and they nodded.

“ **So what exactly do you want us to do about her? Keep her away from the fight until it is over?** ” Gustus asked Lexa and she chuckled shaking her head.

“ **There is no way you could keep her away from it, even if you tried. At the first mention of a fight, Clarke will be there to see. Even if she hates it, she will stay until the end,** ” Lexa said before she continued, “ **Anya, if a fight happens, the moment Clarke shows up, I want you to go to her and to keep her from getting involved in the fight. She will accept it better if it comes from you since she is more used to you,** ” Lexa said and Anya nodded her head.

“ **Are you ready to go face those idiots? Collect every single drop of patient because they are going to suck you dry from it. Just to be in the same room as them is enough to irritate me,** ” Anya said and Lexa chuckled at that.

“ **I wouldn’t put use the same choice of words to describe it, but Anya does have a point. I wish I could run my sword through some of these generals. They are irresponsible and unprepared for the job beside being completely obnoxious,** ” Indra said and Lexa smiled.

“ **Well, then let’s go face them and see what the hell the have up their sleeve for now,** ” Lexa said as she moved towards the opening of the tent, getting out of it being followed by her generals and he bodyguard as she took a deep breath before going towards the tent prepared for the said meeting with the generals, all the while, preparing herself mentally for the challenge of putting up with them and their childishness. It was part of the job and she would do it as gracefully and as powerfully as she always did. Lexa wasn’t Commander for nothing.


	14. Checking the progress

After her talk with Bellamy and after saying goodbye to him and going on a different direction, Clarke went back inside the Mountain, there were a lot of things that she needed to oversee to make sure that everything was running as smoothly as she needed them to so no problem would arise and with that in mind, she went in the direction of the control room where her father and Monty had been checking the system to make sure that everything was safe. So she took the time, while walking, to look around the place and she noticed that there were many grounder warriors and arker guards making security and not only that but they seemed to be talking to one another and it was a view that warmed her heart.

This view of her people working and getting along well with Lexa’s people had haunted her when she was in her self-imposed exile when she would think about all the million ways in which that night could have ended different, with Lexa not leaving her above all other. How they would have celebrated their win together. What could have happened between Lexa and her. But every time she had thought about Lexa choosing her instead of everyone else, she could also picture the many deaths of the grounders that would have happened and she would feel herself become more understanding of Lexa’s decision, which was something she couldn’t bring herself to do back then.

Because if she had understood the girl’s decision, then she would have forgiven her for it and being angry with Lexa alleviated the anger and disgust she felt with herself enough not to make her use a dagger to pierce her own heart but she had thought about what would have been like enjoying the victory together with them, that is how it was always supposed to be and she was glad they were having their chance to see this through now. Now, there is a real chance of changing the outcome of their live and the future of the world and it was her job to protect and use that chance for good.

Clarke opened the door to the control room and entered inside catching the attention of the two men inside. “Hey guys.” She greeted them as she went to her dad who was sitting down and hugged his shoulders from behind kissing his cheek, “Good morning, Dad,” She said to him and he smiled.

“Morning, kiddo,” He said to her with a smile, happy to see his daughter okay and with a smile on her face.

“Morning Monty,” She called to the boy who had helped her accomplish the victory.

“Morning Clarke. Any special reason for the visit?” Monty asked her and she nodded her head at him.

“Yes, one, I missed you guys and two, I came to check on you first. Have you found something? Anything?” She asked them.

“Yeah, we did actually. We have made a list of the things that we have found the record of and that we think could be useful for us. Monty, give it to her,” Jake said instructing the boy who handled to her a list of things. Clarke looked at it and nodded.

“Very well, this is all you guys found?” She asked them and they nodded.

“Yeah. We checked everything we could from here, and from the digital records and that is all we could find,” Monty explained and she nodded.

“Thanks guys. We done.” She told them and they smiled.

Then she moved to lean against the table so she could face her Dad. “So, this is not the only reason why I’m here,” She said looking at her father as he leaned back against the chair to look at her as they held hands.

“What is it then kiddo?” He asked her, worried that there was more problem that she wasn’t telling them but she gave him a sincere smile and that help alleviate that worry.

“The others, the kids who were trapped here, they are getting ready to leave and go back to Arkadia, they are eager to go home and since there is nothing left for you guys to do here, you should go with them, Monty,” Clarke said to the young engineer as he nodded his head at her.

“Everyone else is going too? Miller, Harper, Jasper?” Monty asked her and she shook her head at the last name.

“Jasper, I don’t think so. I don’t think he is ready to leave Maya yet even if only for a few days but as for the others, yes, they are all leaving. Bellamy, Wells and Finn are organizing the move,” Clarke said to him and he nodded.

“Then, I better go talk to Jasper and say my goodbyes,” Monty said as he closed the computer he was using and walked out of the room, leaving father and daughter alone.

“Okay, so what do you want from me?” Jake asked her and she sighed.

“I need you to go with them, Dad,” She said, going straight to the point and he frowned.

“Why?” He asked her and she took a deep breath.

“Because Jaha is going with them and I don’t trust him. You noticed how the people seem to trust me more than they trust him, practically giving me the pin of Chancellor and it is making him a bit power hungry and I don’t trust him to be alone with our people right now. I need you there to control him and the idiots he calls the rest of his Council and I also need you to talk to the people to get them to volunteer to donate bone marrow for the Mountain Men or else we won’t be able to remove them from here and it has been decided that they cannot live inside this place, which means, one way or another, they have to leave,” She said to him and he nodded understanding.

“Besides, Charlotte is there with Aunt Callie alone for these past couple of days and she needs one of you to be with her and Mom needs to stay here to do the transfusion once the volunteer show up tomorrow,” Clarke said to him and he nodded.

“I understand and I agree. Thelonious is not dealing very well with having you call the shots and the council is even less happy about it and Charlie needs us so of course I will go but as for the volunteers, I don’t know if they will listen to me to donate to people who threatened their kids’ lives,” He said to her.

“Dad, you can inspire anyone to do anything. Where do you think I get my speech making abilities from? It’s from you. I know you can do this, just as I know that if the people had seen the video you made about the oxygen flaw, they would have come to help you, no matter the risk.” Clarke said to him remembering that his video was what inspired the people of the culling to sacrifice themselves so that others could have more air.

“You think so?” He asked her smirking and she nodded.

“I know so. Will you help with me with this? I need to be sure that I am leaving our people in good hands,” She asked him and he nodded.

“Of course. Whatever you ask of me, Clarke.” Jake said and he stood up as they hugged for a while basking in just being together and not having lost each other, be it to the council or to the ground and she smiled at him as they pulled back.

“Now, I have to go check on Mom and Raven. See you before you leave. Love you,” She said to him and he nodded before kissing her forehead before she walked out of the room and went in the direction of the medical wing of the facility where she knew her mother would still be treating the more severely wounded warriors and as she passed by the grounders, all greeted her with Skai Prisa, which meant Sky Princess and although she wasn’t too keen on the princess nickname, she still preferred it over the Wanheda one.

Once she got there, she knocked on the door and saw her mother working as was Jackson. Both of them turned when they heard the knock and Abby smiled seeing her daughter standing there. “Clarke, sweetheart,” Abby said and Clarke smiled.

“Hi Mom. Jackson,” She greeted them.

“Hi Clarke,” The guy said before he went back to work and Clarke went to hug her mom.

“Is the meeting over already? How was it? Is everyone okay?” Abby asked her as Clarke pulled a chair near her mother and sat down.

“It was better than I thought it would be which is good. We got one thrid of their weapons and ammo and we can take some of their medical supplies but not all, they still need to have some for them as well. But one point everyone agreed on was the destruction of the red drug as well as the formula so that no one can make it again,” Clarke told her mother and Abby nodded expecting that. ]

“I took a look at it and although I have to say from a scientific point of view that the work they had done with the drug is remarkable,” She said before she continued,

“How they were able to find a drug that would disconnect a person’s wants and needs and make the people they care about a stranger to them is unbelievable and brilliant. But from an ethic and human point of view, it is a cruel act. To force someone to attack their loved ones even without realizing they are doing it. To turn them into those monsters. I have already selected all the notes I could find about it as well as the remaining doses. It is all in this box,” Abby motioned to the box on top of the table by her side.

“Good, we will spill the doses and burn the notes and well as get Raven to erase any trace of it in the systems to make sure it cannot be replicated,” Clarke said and Abby nodded as they went to do just that. While Abby spilled the doses over the sink, Clarke grabbed all the notes and put it on a bag so that she could destroy it outside. Once it was done, she radioed Raven to come to the lab and soon enough the girl came in.

“What’s up Griffin women? What do you need from your humbly genius servant? I am all yours for now. Someone like me won’t stay single for long,” Raven said as she came to them and all three of them laughed at the mechanic’s antics.

“Ray, can you erase every trace in the system on how to make the reaper’s drug?” Clarke asked her and Raven put her hand on her heart.

“Your doubt over my abilities hurt me Griffin, it really does. I’m offend you even feel the need to use the word can and me in the same phrase,” Raven said and Clarke chuckled.

“Just do it, Reyes before your ego tries to swallow you whole,” Clarke said and Raven nodded before moving to the computer and cracking her fingers before she started typing away.

“I was almost forgetting to tell you that Dad is going back to Arkadia in a few moments. He is gathering his things to leave,” Clarke said to her mom who was surprised.

“Why? Did something happen to him?” She asked Clarke worriedly who promptly answered. “Mom, relax. Nothing is wrong with Dad. The remaining hundred who was here wants to go home so I asked him to accompany them and to keep Jaha in line as well as gather the volunteer we need for the transfusion.” Clarke said to her as Abby visibly relaxed.

“I’m sorry, I just a little bit on edge. Erath was not what I expected and I worry about your father and you,” Abby said and Clarke only nodded her head knowing exactly what her mom was felling.

“I know but Earth is not that bad either, Mom. Sure, it is dangerous and there is a lot of death going around but it is still better than living in the Sky and Dad can handle himself. But I don understand the worry,” Clarke said to her as they continued talking.

After a few minutes, raven announced that she was finished and that there was no trace of the red drug anywhere in the system so even someone as, quote unquote, wonderfully genius as her can ever find it to replicate it. Clarke was immensely relieved to hear that and after everything was done, along with Raven, they went to the weaponry to check on the result of raven’s work and sure enough, whatever the young mechanic did to the weapons, surely made them completely unusable, they were completely destroyed. Whatever chemicals the girl use surely did the job. Which was good since now they would have to worry about Pike having an arsenal at his disposal if he ever gets a chance to rise to power, although Clarke will kill him before he even gets the idea. No way in hell is he ruining everything for her. Not again.


	15. Beginning of a Fight

After talking and seeking the advice of three of the people in her army that she thrusts the most, Lexa walked to the tent to talk to the rest of her generals about some of the things that had been decided on the meeting and that she knew not a lot of them would, be happy about. She knew she would have a difficult time trying to get them to see her point of view on the decisions she has made but it wasn’t the first time this happened, and she was sure it wouldn’t be the last so taking a deep breath to steel herself, she entered the tent. She walked over until she stood at the head of the small table that was brought in and faced them. They all bowed their heads in respect, though she noticed that some almost didn’t. She didn’t like that.

“ **Generals, we are here to talk about the Mountain People** _.”_ She said to them before she continued, _“_ **Earlier, I had a meeting with their new leader and we came to an understanding regarding many topics. One of them being their weapons** _.”_ Lexa explained to them.

 **“And what was decided about that topic Commander _?”_** Onin, the Trishanakru general asked her.

“ **One third of their weaponry will be given to the Sky People as a reward for their help in this battle and the other three thirds, including the mass destruction weapons, like missiles will be destroyed so it can never be used again** _,”_ She said to them.

“ **We should destroy all of them, Heda. The sky people can be as dangerous as the Mountain Men** _._ **We cannot trust them. They could try to come after us, start taking our lands,** _”_ Tarick, the Broadleaf general said to her as she looked at him and shook her head.

“ **The Sky People are our allies and their help in the defeat of the Mountain was essential for our victory. Their leader and I are working into making sure that neither one of our people needs to fear the other. Besides, the Sky People are open to the idea of working with us rather than against us. Perhaps, they could be convinced of giving up their weapons in favor of ours. That way your fear would have no more reason to exist,** ” Lexa said firmly to him before she turned to look back at the other generals as well.

“ **But that is not our priority in the moment. The Sky People are on our side and they will get the weapons. In the meantime, the living arrangements of the Mountain Men are still an issue. However, to resolve that one, I will return to Polis and discuss the possibilities with the Ambassadors so for now, they will be allowed to stay inside but as soon as they are allowed to walk in the open, they will leave the Mountain and make camp outside until a more permanent solution has been decided**.” She explained to them.

“ **And we are supposed to let them be? What else do you want us to do? Coddle them? Play with them?** ” Linus, the Azgeda general said sarcastically and Lexa just looked at him.

“ **Respect your Commander** _.”_ Gustus warned him who simply ignored the general and kept looking at Lexa. “ **Why should I? She is asking us to let the enemy have weapons and their lives, simply because she doesn’t want to lose her whore, the sky girl**.” He said to her, every word filled with rage and disdain and Lexa clenched her jaw as she tried to control herself.

“ **Watch your words, general. The Commander is making the best decision for our people, as always. I would think twice before saying anything else. You are coming very close to disrespect your Commander and that is punished by one hundred cuts,** ” Anya said to him also losing her patience. She usually didn’t like Azgeda, at moments like this, even les.

“ **Clarke of the Sky People is not my whore, Linus. She is the leader of her people and a good one at that. My decisions are my own as they have always been, as they will always be, for I am Heda. Not you or anyone else. Even because if she was gracing my bed or not, it would still be none of your business. You better not forget your place again** ,” Lexa said dangerously.

“ **Well, if she is anything like the last one that has graced or not you bed, business or no business, Azgeda will readily step in to deal with her as we dealt with the last one. After all, we don’t need a Commander leading us if she is the one being led by a sky girl. Right?** ” Linus said with a smirk on his face and some of the other generals looked at him and shook their heads in disagreement but some stayed silent.

“ **Does anyone agree with Linus?** ” Lexa asked firmly looking at the generals. A few nodded. “ **Very well. Those of you who are questioning me, let’s settle this, shall we?** ” She started and looked at Anya, the two having a silent conversation and the general understood what her former second wanted so she acted.

“ **Out. All of you. Out. Now,** ” Anya said motioning for them to get out of the tent for what was going to happen. “ **Indra, Gustus. Prepare them** ,” Anya said to her fellow warriors. They nodded and left the two of them alone in the room. Anya watched as Lexa sighed and rested her hands against the table.

“Are you going to fight all of them?” Anya asked her with no judgment on her voice and Lexa looked up at her former mentor and simply let out a sigh.

“ **Do I have another choice? If I don’t do this, they will see me as weak. I have to. I’ll take the opportunity to settle whatever doubt my army can have about my strength so we kill two birds with one stone, as they used to say** ,” Lexa explained and Anya nodded understanding her reasons.

“ **Just be careful. Linus is Azgeda. That means his weapon is laced with Azgeda venom** ,” Anya warned her and Lexa smiled at the concern she could hear in the tough warrior’s voice.

“ **Not the first time I was poisoned with it** ,” Lexa said to her trying to make a joke to lighten up the situation but Anya frowned at her. “ **Okay, I know. Don’t worry, Nyko has a vast supply of antidote for Azgeda venom ready for times like this. I’ll be careful, mother** ,” Lexa said to her and Anya scoffed.

“ **If only you insist in behaving like a child, I could stop worrying for you as if you were one. I swear all my grey hair will be because of you** ,” She said and Lexa gave her a small smile before moving past her general and out of the tent. She could already see that a group of her warriors had formed a wide circle to watch the fight. Lexa sighed and move forward with her head held high and with the elegance and power she exuded.

In another part of the camp, Kane, Murphy, Clarke, Raven and Wells had finished destroying all the weapons just as Lexa had asked them to. Many grounder warriors were around to see it and attest that they followed Lexa’s orders as well as spread the word around the army that Skaikru honored their part of the deal as did the Mountain Men, which would paint a good picture of them for the rest of the people and potentially help the acceptance of the Sky People as the future thirteenth clan of the Coalition and Clarke was feeling a little more relaxed that these weapons would not be used for evil again and certainly not by Pike’s hand.

“It’s done. Not one survived me. Of course, they didn’t, I am that awesome,” Raven said as they watched the flames envelop the weapons and destroy it.

“Thank God you could do this Ray,” Clarke said sighing in relief.

“I’m not a fan of weapons but what if we needed them?” Wells asked his friends and Clarke looked at him.

“The grounders have other weapons and I’m sure that once I have talked to the Commander that they will be willing to teach us. These are destructive. I hope that at some point our people will give them up completely,” Clarke said and her friends looked at her.

“Have all of us, including the Mountain Men, to use swords, spears, knives like the grounders?” Murphy asked her and she nodded.

“Yes. These are destructive weapons. You know it,” She said to her friends and three of them understood what she was talking about. Pike with 9 other people and automatic rifles were able to massacre 300 warriors like they were nothing. They nodded at her.

“We are on the ground now. There is more that we need to adapt to and weapons is one of those things but let’s deal with one problem at a time. First, we get rid of these and then we start the transition,” Clarke said and they agreed.

“I don’t think it will be easy and my dad will certainly not agree,” Wells said and Clarke looked at him, she knew that. “But I’m with you. I agree that we should change in that department,” Wells said and Clarke smiled at him.

“Thanks Wells. That means a lot to me,” She said sincerely to him and hugged him as he hugged her back.

“Well, as long as they train us, I have no problem with it,” Murphy said and the other three agreed and of course they would, they all received previous training in the Valley of Time.

Clarke smiled. “I’m sure they will if we ask them nicely enough,” She said to him but everyone nodded their heads at her words.

Just then, they started hearing some noise, as if it was chanting, they couldn’t decipher exactly what it was, but it didn’t give Clarke a good feeling. In fact, it did the opposite, it unsettled her, and she was suddenly anxious without even knowing why. Then they turned towards the sound and they were all frowning confused by what was going on until they saw Octavia running along with the other seconds towards the noise. When she saw them, she stopped and turned towards them. “Octavia, what is going on? What is all of this noise?” Clarke asked her when the girl got close.

“Apparently, some of the generals are not happy with the Commander so they challenged her to a fight,” She said to them and Clarke felt her heart drop to her feet. She reached out and held Raven’s hand and the mechanic immediately held onto the blonde, knowing what was going on in her friend’s mind. Her girlfriend was just about to fight her generals who were trying to kill her. She couldn’t imagine how Clarke would be feeling right now, so she tried to offer whatever support the blonde needed from her.

“What? Are you sure?” Kane asked also worried about Clarke.

“Yes, they are making a circle so the warriors can watch. I have to go because the warriors say that it’s always the best of fights when the Commander is involved and Indra said I should try to learn something. You guys should come too. See you later.” The warrior said and ran past them towards the crowd that was forming and Clarke seemed to have stopped breathing for a second.

“Clarke, she will be fine. Lexa is the best warrior in the entire army of the Coalition. She will be fine. You need to breathe and relax a little,” Raven said in her ear but Clarke wasn’t listening.

“I have to stop her. I have to stop her,” Clarke said and turned to look at Raven. “What if she…” She was saying it but she couldn’t finish it given the lump that formed on her throat at the thought of something happening to Lexa before Clarke just turned around and started running towards the direction Octavia went and where she knew Lexa would be. Her friends looked at each other and followed after her. Wells may not know everything, but he knew his best friend and knew Clarke cared for the Commander so all four of them were worried for her.

Lexa stood in front of her tent as she looked at her generals standing across from her on the other side of the circle. It was time to do this. She looked at Anya and nodded at her. The general understood and stepped forward to help her with her armor. Lexa removed the shoulder pad and was undoing the buckles of her coat when Clarke appeared panting from having run, Lexa assumed. One look at her girlfriend and Lexa knew this would not be an easy talk and she was right. “You can’t do this,” Clarke said once she was close to her so no one else would hear their conversation.

“I know how you feel about this Clarke, but…” Lexa started but Clarke didn’t let her finish, interrupting her.

“Do you, really? Do you understand what it will be like for me to see this?” Clarke said and luckily, they were a bit away from the rest of the crowd and Clarke wasn’t speaking loudly.

“Yes, I do, and I don’t like this anymore than you do but it is necessary,” Lexa said firmly as she removed her coat and passed it to Anya who just stood by the side.

“It isn’t necessary. You don’t have to do this. Baby. Please, don’t do this, for me. I am asking you. Don’t fight them. Solve this another way,” Clarke begged and Lexa looked at her with her heart breaking from the pain she could see on blue orbs staring back at her.

She understood Clarke. She really did, when Clarke fought Quint, Lexa judged to be unnecessary and dangerous as well as stupid and Clarke did it because she had something to prove to herself more than to her people. She fought him because she wanted to, because she had to. In the end, Lexa understood however this is different. If she doesn’t do this, they win and may even start thinking about overthrowing her and that means death. She had to do this so she could continue in power and continued alive for her people and most of all, for Clarke.

“Look, I know you may not understand but I really need to do this. When it’s over, we can talk and I will explain but right now, I need to do this and you need to let me. I will be fine,” Lexa said and Clarke shook her head.

“You don’t know that,” The blonde said holding back a sob as a treacherous tear fell down and it pierced Lexa’s heart like a bullet.

“Must you always doubt me?” She said trying to joke but Clarke just looked at her pleadingly even if the words didn’t come out and Lexa could only look at her apologetically and the blonde understood there was no changing her mind.

“Heda. It’s time,” Anya said and Lexa looked at her general before nodding. She grabbed her sword and walked forward entering the circle. Clarke sighed in despair. Anya took pity on the girl and saw that she really cared about Lexa. Whatever they had was serious for both of them which meant it was serious for her too.

“She will be fine, Sky Girl. She is the best fighter we have,” Anya said to her and Clarke looked at the warrior.

“She may be the best warrior but she is not invincible. She can get hurt. She bleeds like you and me. And that is what worries me,” Clarke said to her before she walked away while Anya just looked after her.

Clarke walked back to her friends. She would need their support to get through with this. Raven held her hand and Murphy side hugged tightly as they looked ahead and saw that the generals were all ready for it as well. Clarke looked at Lexa and almost as if calling to her, the brunette looked right back at her while Indra stepped forward and started speaking. “The generals have defied and disrespected our beloved Commander,” Anya said in English so that the Sky People that have joined to watch could understand as well.

“They challenge her because they believe her to be weak, that she no longer has the Spirit within her but we know how wrong they are,” She said and some of the warriors cheered for her words some were still undecided. “And for that alone, they should die but the Commander is just and fair and will give them an honorable death. She will fight them, and may the best warrior die at last by her hands,” Anya finished her speech and the majority of the warriors cheered and Lexa broke the eye contact with Clarke and stepped forward.


	16. Proving Strength

Lexa stepped forward and the generals all stood in a fighting stance and she made sure to look at every single one of them in the eyes, to let them see that she would show no mercy for having dared to question and she could some of them gulp in fear of what she would do to them for being foolish, before she raised her own sword with both hands and waited for them to move. There were 7 of them and she wasn’t worried about fighting them. She knew she was better, however there was Linus and like any Azgeda, he wasn’t too fond of playing by the rules and loved fighting dirty so she would need to keep an eye on him to make sure that she wouldn’t fall in one of his traps.

She had fought Azgeda warriors before and as Anya said they all lace their weapons with venoms only found in their territory and once Lexa got a hold of this information, the first thing she did was get the spies she had on their territory to gather the best knowledge of the venoms as well as collect their antidotes so she would have no surprise and wouldn’t give them the pleasure of having her die in such a way so although there was the danger of that, she still got it pretty much covered so she would only worry about fighting them and winning.

She can’t afford to lose. Clarke may feel that this is unnecessary but if she didn’t answer them questions this way, it would be everything Linus and consequentially Nia would need to start poisoning her people against her, making them doubt her and she was only Commander as long as her people believed in her and if they didn’t, then she would die and she didn’t want to put Clarke through that again so she has to do this, to protect not only her future and the future of her people but also to protect her own future at the side of the woman she loves.

Lexa waited, patient was a virtue in this situation, and the first one to move towards her was the second general of Trishanakru, Devon, he came with his spears and swung towards her and she dodged it without much trouble. He tried it again, but she sidestepped, held his arms and stood his back to her front as she twirled her sword in her hand and while standing behind him, she lashed his throat and pushed his body back as it fell to the ground and the people cheered. Clarke knew that by the end of this, she would be out of her mind. She couldn’t believe that Lexa was doing this to her again, as if Roan was not enough.

She understood that there may be more things at stake than what she knows but right now, she doesn’t give two shits about those reasons. All her mind, all her heart can think of is the fact that the love of her life is fighting seven of her generals to the death. That at any moment, all they need is to get that one attack and she will lose Lexa all over again and she can’t handle that thought, of having to watch the life dim in her girlfriend’s eyes again, yet, her feet would not carry her way from the place. If it is was breaking her inside, Clarkee would stay by Lexa until the end, whoever end that was, theirs or hers.

Lexa waited and the next one came as well, Cain kom Sangedakru. He had a bow and arrows and Clarke’s heart went to her throat. How was Lexa going to get out of this one? Everyone was watching with bated breath. “What do you think is going to happen now?” Jessica asked Bellamy and Finn who were watching with her.

“She is going to die, isn’t she?” Finn said as they watched, and Clarke noticed the way Raven motioned for Finn to shut the hell up.

“I’m sorry, Heda but we must do what we must for our people,” The guy said as he took aim and she nodded. “I understand,” She said, and he fired his first shot.

Everyone was shocked when Lexa used her sword to dodge it, including him. How was that even possible? How was she even faster that an arrow?

“I hope you understand that you made the wrong choice today, Cain. A choice that will cost you your life,” Lexa said as she moved towards him. He quickly shot another arrow and another and another as Lexa dodged all of them the same way before she gripped the one arrow he had on the bow and drove her sword through his body, killing him.

“Forgive me, Heda,” He said as blood dripped from his mouth.

“You are forgiven,” She said to him as a small mercy and pulled the sword back and didn’t even have time to prepare for the next who come running at her and she barely had time to dodge him. She had to admit he was fast, but she knew she was faster and to win she would have to be smarter than him. He had two small knives, while she had her sword. She knew him to be Cain’s second, so he wanted to avenge the death of his first. He would be emotional and more prone to make a mistake and she would exploit that.

“How long is this going to take?” Clarke asked as she watched Lexa and this new guy circle each other as if they were two animals on the prowl, Lexa more than the guy.

“I don’t know but look, once this one is gone, there are only 4 left and she would win easily,” Raven said trying to comfort the girl, but Clarke just wanted Lexa to be okay.

“They are 4 too many Raven. All it takes is one good strike,” Clarke said as Lexa and the guy started exchanging blow, but none landed on their targets. He was better than the other two.

Jake and Abby were also watching along with Kane and Jaha and they were both worried. “This is not looking good for her,” Jake said as they watched Lexa dodge another series of blows the guy delivered and Abby nodded apprehensive.

“Yeah but from what I heard from the grounders, she is the best so although it may difficult, but I think she will win,” Abby said to her husband.

“What do you think will happen if she doesn’t?” Jaha asked them.

“I don’t know, I suppose they find a new one,” Jake said shrugging.

“I wonder how they do that.” Jaha said before they all focused back on the fight.

Lexa had given him time just so she could assess how was his style and now that she knew, more or less, she made a plan of attack and just waited for the perfect moment and when he made a series of blows again, she dodged the first few, he even managed to get a hit, by slashing her belly, to which she promptly ignored and when she felt his blows slow down just one bit, it was enough for her to use her speed and dodge one of his knives and before the other came, she kneeled down and swung her sword cutting his knees as he fell down and she drove her sword through his chest while on the ground.

She pulled it back as the crowd cheered once more and waited for the next generals but this time, three of them came forward to fight her at the same time, already seeing that alone they stood no chance against her. The first one was Fini kom Podakru and she had two swords, the others were Pato and Amon kom Ingranrona Kru. They each had a sword. She paid closer attention to them and waited. They would be the first to move, not her and they did. Pato came at her with all the strength he had, and boy was he strong.

She barely had time to dodge his attacks before Amon joined in and he was faster than she had expected, getting a few cuts here and there but nothing too serious, however, Lexa was still holding them both off and Fini tried to attack her from behind but Lexa already expected it so she dodged it but Pato grabbed her and was about to drive his sword through her but she raised hers in time to hold him off from doing that, however Amon was moving towards her and she knew she needed to act fast so she quickly reached towards her leg and grabbed her dagger, raised it up and drove it through Pato’s eye ball.

She kicked the sword out of Amon’s hand and very swiftly, she disentangled herself from Pato, who fell to the ground and stood up to fight the other two. This time she was the one who moved towards them, dealing blow after blow and they had to work hard to avoid them but they were no match for her and she quickly drove her sword through Fini and when Amon tried to come for her, Lexa used Fini’s sword to kill Amon who had her throat slashed as blood fell on her face and upper arms.

Both of them fell to the ground and Lexa picked up her sword from Fini’s body and used two now instead of just one. Now, there was only Linus and she knew that he waited to be the last so she would be tired and more worn down than him, but he clearly didn’t know her very well. She still didn’t have a bruise so clearly his plan didn’t work, and she could see his mind trying to create another one, so she moved towards him and almost killed him before he moved out of the way and she had to react fast to avoid him from lashing at her.

Clarke wasn’t sure how she was still breathing after everything that she was witnessing happening to her girlfriend and in front of her. Every second of this was being torture for her, she just wanted to raise her gun and shoot them all dead so Lexa wouldn’t have to risk her life fighting them and yes, she was proving to be better than all of them together but that didn’t nothing for Clarke’s nerve or to sooth her worries. When the last one was dead, then she would relax but for now she would still worry herself to craziness.

“She is very good. I have never seen someone fight like that,” Bellamy said as he crossed his arms and Finn looked at across the camp and settled on Clarke.

“I’m more worried about Clarke. She is white like a sheet,” He said worriedly, and Bellamy looked at the girl and had to agree that she was looking not so good but he knew the reason why. She was with the Commander. It was her girlfriend that was fighting, of course she would be worried, but he couldn’t say anything, not to anyone and certainly not to Finn.

“Yeah, I hope she’s okay,” Bellamy said and focused on the fight once again. Clarke was with Murphy, Raven and Wells, they would give her the support she needs.

Linus moved forward and tried his best to land a blow on her, but every time Lexa would dodge it and he was getting impatient and as their sword clashed together, they both pushed each other away a few steps and he was already out of his mind. He had hoped that the other would do the job for him but he had no counted with her being so superior to them in combat and now he had no idea how he was going out of this alive so he decided that if he couldn’t hurt her like this, there was somewhere else he could deliver a blow that would hurt even more so with that being said, he moved away from Lexa.

He picked up the bow and one arrow that was discarded on the floor and pulled it back pointing at the Commander as she stopped her advance and simply looked at him, unimpressed that after everything, he really thinks he can hurt her with an arrow. However, she still stood in her fighting position, waiting for him to release the arrow so she could dodge and finally kill him once and for all. “That arrow is not going to hurt me, Linus,” Lexa said in a bored voice until she saw him smirk and then her blood ran cold.

“Who said it is for you?” He said that and in a mater of seconds, Lexa saw everything in slow motion. He pulled the arrow back and shifted the bow so that instead of pointing at her, he was aiming at Clarke and he gave her a wink before he let the arrow go and she could only watch as the small object flew in the air in the direction of the woman she loved and as it got closer, Lexa’s heart stopped beating until out of nowhere, Anya appeared and cut the arrow in half before it got anywhere near Clarke and finally things went back to the normal pace.

Lexa’s eyes connected with Clarke for one second, although for them, it was like hours, but once Lexa was sure that Clarke was safe, an uncontrollable rage took over from her and even Clarke could see the murderous look on Lexa’s face, and she knew that Linus was done for. Lexa then turned back to Linus who had an wide eyes look on his face so much that he missed Lexa throwing her sword away as she ran towards him and tackled him to the ground before she straddled him and started punching him in the face as he tried to defend himself but Lexa was in a trance and nothing was stopping her.

She just keep punching with all her strength as she started drawing blood but not stopping there, not even when he stopped fighting back, she just kept punching until she found her rage melt away and she stopped before she took another dagger she had and slid his throat just to make sure he was really dead before she stood up, covered in his blood as she stood facing her people as silence resigned before someone yelled Heda and soon enough, all the warriors were chanting her name and stopping their feet and clashing their weapons and she just stood there, watching them as everyone watched her in shock of what they had just seen her do.

Lexa then realized that she had lost control, something she rarely did specially in a fight and that she needed to recompose herself so then she turned around and made her way back to the tent with a look towards Nyko who understood the signal, quickly gathering his things before following her inside as everyone was recovering from what they have seen happen right before their eyes. Anya turned towards Clarke. “Are you okay? Are you hurt somewhere?” She asked the blonde who looked at her.

“No, I’m fine. Thank you for saving my life,” Clarke said to her and Anya nodded at her before she turned and walked away.

“Remind me to never mess with you again,” Murphy said from Clarke’s side and the blonde turned to look at him as he looked at her in awe. Clarke the shook her head.

“I will go talk to her,” She said to her friends before she walked away from them and towards the tent, getting inside, as they looked at each other.

“This conversation between them is not ending well, is it?” Wells asked them and Raven just shook her head.

“No, definitely not,” She said as they turned to join the rest of their people while waiting for whatever would happen in that tent to blow over.


	17. Couple fight

As soon as she entered the tent, Lexa let out a deep sigh of relief that she was able to prove her strength to her people and had them on her side again, but she was also disturbed by the fact that Linus decided to hurt Clarke to hurt her. It only showed that people had been observant of her dynamic with Clarke. They would have to be more careful from now on, Lexa dreaded the moment the word about her relationship with Clarke would reach Nia’s ear, with her being the biggest enemy the young brunette had for now, and what the Ice Queen would do, if she will try to do with Clarke the same thing she did with Costia. Lexa vowed to kill her if she ever tries anything of the sort with the blonde sky girl.

Lexa sighed as Nyko came inside her tent and started to treat her wounds, she wasn’t particularly keen on this part of fighting, this aftermath but she was indeed glad that her injuries were all minor ones, not as bad as some she had received previously in fights she had had before. However, she also wasn’t particularly keen in having to fight so many of her people, of her generals. She hated the fact that she had to kill them like this, but she also can’t have people that disrespect her as Commander around her like that, there is always a limit to expressing their opinions and those generals crossed it today.

“ **Is it over already Nyko? I am getting impatient. I need to make sure that things are okay now after their deaths,** ” Lexa asked him, and he shook his head.

“ **Not yet, Commander. I understand that you have your duty to tend to and I am going as fast as it is agreeable,** ” He said as he continued to clear the wounds

But as soon as he said that, the tent flap was opened rather roughly as Clarke entered the place with a stride to her step looking around until her eyes finally met Lexa’s. One look at the blonde and Lexa knew that this would not be a pleasant conversation so when their eyes locked, Lexa look down at Nyko and back at Clarke and shook her head, indicating that whatever she wanted to say to the Commander should not be said in front of him. Clarke seemed to have understood the message and nodded, crossing her arms and waiting.

“ **Commander, can you lift your shirt so that I can treat the gash on your belly?** ” Nyko said and Lexa nodded lifting it up and giving Clarke a full view of the wound.

The blonde could not help but to gasp at the sight of it. It wasn’t a nasty wound because it wasn’t that deep, it would scar but minimally, probably just a thin reminder of what happened here today, but it was okay. The wound was a long one and it had black blood coming out of it and at the sight of that, Clarke couldn’t help but be reminded of another time and situation in which black blood oozed out of wound on the older girl’s stomach and she shook her head trying to get rid of the images before she had a panic attack.

Nyko tried to work a fast a he could and in a matter of a few more minutes, he was finally done. He could feel the tension in the air between the two women, so he thought better than to extend his stay there beyond what was strictly necessary for his Commander’s health. All he did was make sure his Commander was okay, that all of her wounds were treated properly, as it was his duty and once that was done and over with, he stood up gathering his tools and putting them back on his bag. “ **The wounds need to be cleaned every day and the bandages need to be cleaned every day as well. Other than that, you’re fine, Commander** ,” He said.

Lexa nodded at him. “ **Of course. Thank you Nyko for your help. You may go now and tell Ryder that I don’t want interruptions unless it is an emergency,** ” Lexa said to him standing up from the chair in which she was in and he nodded bowing his head.

“ **The honor was mine to be able to help you, Commander. And I will,** ” He said to her and turned around leaving the tent, sighing on his way out in relief of the tension as they heard him speak with the guard staying outside.

“Well, I can see you came in here with a purpose so let me have it but watch your tone, there are people outside that could hear you and think you are disrespecting me, the Commander,” Lexa said to the blonde who looked at her.

“What the hell is wrong with you Lexa? Why did you do something so stupid like fighting all of those people on your own? What was going through your head to think that was a good idea?” Clarke said clearly irritated but remembering to keep her voice down. Lexa sighed.

“I know you don’t understand this, Clarke but…” Lexa tried to say, tried to explain her point of view from what happened but Clarke interrupted getting closer.

“Do not tell me that I don’t understand this because I’m a Sky person, because I’m not one of you. What you did was stupid and reckless anywhere in the world, not just here Lexa,” Clarke said to her and Lexa shook her head.

“Yes, Clarke, you do not understand because you have not grown up like us. I’m not saying I wouldn’t prefer a better way to solve things, and perhaps in the future I can implement it but for now, to my people, this is how one proves one’s strength and that is how a leader deals with people who challenge her. I’m sorry you had to see it, I really am but it had to happen. There was no other way,” Lexa said to her and Clarke scoffed.

“Did you even try to find one? Did you even try to talk to them before slashing their throats? Before having that gash on your belly?” She said angrily at the brunette.

“Yes, of course, I did. I always do Clarke, but I promise you there was no other way. I hate this as much as you do,” Lexa said to her, but Clarke simply shook her head.

“No, you don’t hate this as much as I do Lexa. And you know why? Because you weren’t the one who had to watch me bleed to death without being able to do anything to stop it. I did,” Clarke said and the tears came up to her eyes, “It was your blood on my hands, on my bed sheets, it was you who took a bullet to the stomach, you were the one that died, and I was the one left with no options except to watch it happen before my own eyes,” Clarke said to her.

“You know I am sorry for that. If I could take that pain and those memories away from you, I would in a heartbeat. I never wanted for you to go through that,” Lexa said stepping closer trying to comfort the blonde but Clarke took a step back and let tried not to let the hurt she was feeling at the rejection of her touch to show on her face.

“But you just did, Lexa. That is my point. You just made me go through that again. This fight was like watching that bullet hit you. The only difference was that the bullet was faster, and this was a slow agony. Every time they came at you, I wondered if that was it, if that was the hit that would kill you again as I would have to watch it happen again,” Clarke said with tears in her eyes as they started to fall down on her face, “You hated when I fought with Quint but look at what you just did, Lexa. Why can’t you understand why I hate when you fight like this?”

“You fought with Quint for personal reasons, Clarke. You wanted to prove something to yourself and you were on a misguided notion that you needed my people’s approval to be with me and after the worry was gone, I understood why you did. I didn’t believe it to be necessary, but I understood. However, that was in no way similar to this situation. If my people lose their trust in me, Clarke, then I’m as good as dead. I was fighting out there, for the chance we want to have a future together and I am sorry you can’t understand that what I am doing, I am doing it for us,” Lexa said to her as she sighed, and Clarke got irritated.

“Do not patronize me. I’m not a child,” Clarke said to her.

“But you are acting like one,” Lexa said irritated as well before she seemed to calm down. “I understand why you’re angry and why you’re worried. I love you and I want bad thing happening to you even less then you do me so I do understand what you’re feeling, I would feel the same if I was in your shoes, but you have to understand that this is my life, Clarke. This constant danger, these fights, these wounds, even if I have peace between my people and yours, I will always be in danger,” Lexa said to her and Clarke nodded.

“Yes, but do you have to go in search of that danger? Those generals didn’t challenge you, you challenged them. I asked you not to do it, to find another way but you preferred to go through with it and put me through this without even trying. You didn’t care what it would do to me to see you like that again. You only thought about yourself. And if that is how you’re going to act, how is this relationship going to work? You do whatever you want without considering my opinions and I just have to accept it because the powerful Heda commanded?” Clarke said looking at her, “Well, I don’t think so,” Clarke said to her and Lexa sighed.

“I have not done such a thing and I am sorry you can’t understand why I had to do it or that you’re not even willing to try. And I’m sorry you feel overlooked, if I did this, I apologize. I would never intentionally belittle your opinions or your feelings. They matter more to me than anyone else’s, but there are situations in which my personal feelings or your personal feelings do not matter when it comes to do the best for our people. You know that better than anyone. Your worries, I’m afraid, could have no part in the decision to fight or not. It was in the best interest of our people and our own that I fought, that I won, and your emotions are preventing you from seeing that. I understand why…” Lexa said but Clarke interrupted her.

“You understand nothing or else you wouldn’t have done it,” Clarke said angrily at her and turned around to walk out of the tent.

“Are you leaving just like that without even finishing talking about this?” Lexa asked her and Clarke turned around and looked at her girlfriend.

“Oh. Yeah, sorry. I must have forgotten. I apologize for my mistake. Do I have your permission to leave, Commander?” Clarke said sarcastically and Lexa sighed defeated.

“Clarke…” Lexa tried to say but all the blonde did was walk out of the tent and Lexa sighed as she closed her eyes. This was not good.

Clarke walked out of the tent and her emotions were a mess, she was angry, hurt, irritated, sad and all she knew was that she needed to be away for a while. She couldn’t be around Lexa or else she might say things she would regret later and she didn’t want that. She needed time and space away from the brunette to cool down before even attempting at talking to her about this subject again as she knew they would have to at some point. So, she looked around camp and her eyes were set on the figure of her father as he prepared the kids and the others to leave to Arkadia and an idea popped in her head as she walked towards him.

“Hey Dad. Do you have place for one more?” She called out to him and he turned to look at her confusedly.

“Don’t you have to stay to deal with the Commander and help her?” He said to her, curious as to why she would be leaving if she was needed her, and she shook her head.

“No, the Commander can handle everything herself. She doesn’t need me,” She said ironically but he didn’t seem to catch it which she was thankful for.

“Well, of course. I always have a place for you, kiddo,” He said hugging her and she sighed against his chest and nodded.

“Well, then let’s go,” She said and he nodded smiling at her though he did notice that there was something wrong with her. He only hoped that she would feel comfortable to talk to him or someone about it instead of keeping it all inside.

“Let’s go. Bellamy and Finn are up in the back if you want to go with them. I will be at the front with the others,” Jake said to her and she nodded at him.

“Okay. I will go join them,” She said. Jake kissed her forehead and she walked past the others greeting them until she came to the end of the group.

Indeed, the boys were there at the back along with the remaining of the hundred, Bellamy and Finn were talking in the back and Finn was the first one that noticed her, as usual and he couldn’t help the smile that formed on his face when he saw her coming their way. No matter what has happened, he was still in love with her, his feelings for her have not changed and any opportunity he had to spend time with her was deeply appreciated. “Hey Clarke. What are you doing here?” Finn asked her and she gave them both a hug.

“I’m going to Arkadia with you guys,” Clarke said to them, and the boys looked at each other before looking back at her.

“Is everything okay here?” Bellamy asked her and she nodded though she knew at least he wouldn’t believe her and would maybe pick up on what could possibly be wrong with her.

“Yeah, I just need a break from all of this and there are things I need to do there so, two birds with one stone,” She said to them as she came to stand between them, and they nodded.

“Hey, you know you can tell me anything,” Bellamy whispered to her when Finn wasn’t paying attention, to caught up talking to Miller.

“I am fine but if I feel like talking, I promise you will be the first person I will go to, okay?” She said to him and he nodded, satisfied with the answer, for now. With that, Finn turned back towards her and they started talking, making the trip much more pleasant and much quicker than Clarke had expected. She knew, deep down, that she had been childish to simply walk out of the conversation with Lexa, but she also felt that she needed to. She planned to stay at Arkadia for just today and return tomorrow, hopefully then, they would be able to talk and move past this argument and things would go back to the way it was before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, how have you been? Good, I hope. Anyway, I came to thank you guys for commenting on this story and the last chapters and ask you to keep commenting. I love reading your thoughts on the direction the story is going, where you hope it would go, what you want to happen, it instigates me to keep writing so comment a lot, respectfully so.  
> Hope you guys enjoyed the angst in this chapter, it will take a few more chapters before our couple fix this but what relationship doesnt hit a bump on the road? SO stay tuned to see how this will end. Until the next update.  
> Kisses, Kisses,  
> Your Author.
> 
>  
> 
> P.S: Check my other stories, I would like to see what you guys think of them as well. <3 <3 <3


	18. What a Speech

The moment Clarke walked out of the tent, Lexa let out a deep sigh as she simply let herself fall on her throne and put her face on her hands. Yes, Lexa could perfectly understand where Clarke was coming from. She knew that the experience from their past life of the last moments they spent together which were the moments in which Lexa was bleeding on the blonde’s bed, after taking a bullet that had been meant from the other girl. She can imagine how difficult it must have been for the girl to have to watch the life go out of her eyes.

She can imagine how Clarke must have felt guilty for not being able to save her. Lexa perfectly understand the trauma that it must have caused the blonde when it comes to seeing Lexa in a possibly similar situation. She could understand how the blonde must have felt while seeing her fight her generals today. She could understand why Clarke thought that her actions were unnecessary, but the problem is not what she can or cannot understand. The problem is the reality that Clarke doesn’t seem ready to accept.

Lexa is Commander. She has always been Commander and will always be Commander, unless she dies or she lives long enough to one day, choose to pass the Flame onto the next worthy nightblood, who will then carry on with her legacy, whatever that will be. But until that day comes, her life will always be in danger, she will always be susceptible to being challenged, her enemies will keep trying to assassinate her, her generals or her Ambassador are susceptible to betraying her, that is her life and if Clarke wants to be a part of it she needs to be ready to accept it or no matter how much they love one another, this relationship will not work.

Lexa was deep in thought when the flap of her tent was opened, and Anya came inside. Lexa couldn’t help but stand up from her throne and walk towards the woman before pulling her in for a hug. She could feel Anya’s surprise before she felt the woman relax against her and her arms wrapped tightly around Lexa while also being considerate of her wounds. Lexa knew the woman was not so used to public display of affection like this but given what she did for Lexa today, the younger brunette didn’t know another way to do this.

“ **Thank you for the stopping the arrow. I don’t know what I would have done if he had hurt her** ,” Lexa said sincerely as she pulled away from the hug looking at the older woman, and Anya nodded her head, already knowing that was the reason for the hug.

“ **I knew he had to have known that you would have massacred him and that he would have one last trick where he would bet it all on. Once he picked up the bow and arrow even after your display of skills against it, I knew he was aiming that arrow on her so I grabbed a shield, walked closer to Clarke and waited for him to prove me right and he did** ,” Anya explained, and Lexa could only be more grateful.

“ **But that leaves me worried Anya. If he already made the connection of the nature of my relationship with Clarke, how long until Nia finds out?** ” Lexa asked her worried and Anya smirked at the young girl who frowned in confusion. “ **What?** ” Lexa asked.

“ **Yesterday, at night, we intercepted a messenger from Linus to the Queen. I believe the guy was supposed to deliver exactly that information to her, but he met an unfortunate end before he could get anywhere close to the Ice Nation. Poor thing** ,” Anya said, and Lexa couldn’t help but reflect her smirk with one of her own.

“ **I don’t know what I would do without you, Gustus or Indra, you know that?** ” Lexa said to the woman who nodded her head.

“ **Oh, we know. But that was actually not why I came here. I am here because your job is not yet finished. Your people once again saw your strength, but they need to hear your words of reassurance. You need to go out there and make a speech Lexa. Besides fighting, speeches are kind of your specialty** ,” Anya said to her and Lexa seemed to think about it.

“ **You really think they need a speech from me? Now?** ” Lexa asked. She wasn’t opposed to it, words never failed her before, she just wasn’t sure that there was a need.

“ **They are all still in the same spot looking at this tent as if waiting for you. Yes, Lexa, I am sure that it is necessary so get your ass out there and blow their minds** ,” Anya said to her and all Lexa could do was to nod her head before she took a deep breath and did just that. She walked out of the tent and she could see her warriors were all there, with their attention solely focused on her tent and now on her and seeing them like this, she knew Anya was right about her needing to do this for them so she walked towards the middle of the circle they had made, looked at some of them before she started.

“ **Eleven years ago, a tyrant was exterminated. Eleven years ago, the period of obscurity and pure hatred installed on our people was finished. Eleven years ago, a blood thirsty leader met his end. Eleven years ago, Kalil of Rockline Clan died. Eleven years ago, the conclave was called to happen and eleven years ago I won and ascended** ,” She spoke loud enough for everyone to hear as she continued,

“ **On the day the Spirit of the Commander choose me to lead, I made an oath to protect my people and lead them towards a better and brighter future, a future that is not filled with death and loss of loved ones because of pointless wars as it was done in the past. You are my people, you are all my people, every single clan, and I have kept my oath and we are finally united and stronger than ever under the banner of the Coalition** ,”

“ **Every decision I have taken in the past, that I take in the present or that I will take in the future is done thinking about what the best for our people is, the best for all of you and that is never going to change, no matter what. You may not agree, or you may not like those decisions, you’re allowed to have your opinion, I’m not perfect and I may make mistakes. I am human after all** ,” She said to them as she turned around in her spot to make sure to look at as many of them as possible as she went on,

“ **But what I will not allow now or ever is for anyone to disrespect my place as your Commander, even more so anyone who dares to question the legitimacy of my connection to the Spirit, or for one second to suggest that I have forgotten my oath, my duty and that I have forgone the best interests and the safety of those I sworn to serve until the last breath leave my body because of anything or anyone. That will simply never happen** ,” Lexa said firmly.

“ **I have never sent you anywhere I wouldn’t dare go myself. I never forgot your complaints, or your wishes and I certainly haven’t forgotten the faces of your families as you leave them to follow me into a war because those are the faces that I will have to see again if any of you die under my command. And if I have to take you from your homes and your loved ones, then trust me that I will do it solely because it’s the best thing for all of us, not because of some petty whim like these traitors suggested I do** ,” She said pointing towards Linus’ body.

“ **I have not, and I will not forget my duties to every single one of you here in these field as well as every single person back at each clan, each village, each home. I have and I will always put my duty to you first and believe that I will not make a decision if it is not the best for all of us even if you can’t see it right away, trust in me and you will see a little further down the road that I was right. Believe in the strength of each clan separately and even more believe in the strength of our Coalition and I tell you that there is no enemy that will come our way that we won’t be able to defeat!** ” Lexa said and yelled raising her fist to the Sky and the crowd followed her example and raised theirs as well yelling out her title.

The yells and the screams of Heda and Kongeda were deafening and Lexa gave a small smile mixed with a smirk. Anya watched the scene happen in front of her and she couldn’t be prouder of the strong leader and strong woman that little petulant child thrown into her care turned out to be. As opposed to the Commander that came before her, Lexa was followed by their people because they believed in her and because they loved her just as much as she loved them in return and Anya couldn’t help but feel excited for everything that Lexa will accomplish for their people yet. Speaking of her, the Commander raised her hand, and everyone made silence to hear her next words.

“ **Well, as far as these traitors go, they may not have deserved it in life, but we will teach them honor in death. Make pyres and burn the bodies** ,” She said to her warriors who nodded accepting her orders and ready to do it. “ **Now, that this issue is solved, everyone go back to work. Anya, find the replacements for the generals. Indra, coordinate the pyres** ,” Lexa gave her orders and all the warriors replied with a powerful chorus of Sha Heda before they all bowed down before her, the only ones staying on their feet was the Sky People obviously.

Lexa let out a breath of relief as she saw all her warriors paying respect to her which lets her know they still believe in her and that was all she wanted from this display. She has always known that a leader is as good as his people’s faith in him. Without their trust in her, she will be no one’s leader and that is why she always try to make sure to show them that they can continue to trust her, that she does have their best interest at heart, that she can see a bigger picture and what she does is to drive them towards a better future and hope that it works.

She turned around and walked back towards her tent. Immediately, the warriors rose to their feet and a group of them moved forward and started gathering the bodies while another group grabbed axes and moved towards the forest to gather wood for the pyres. Gustus came to Anya’s side and the two generals started talking as they watched Indra ordering the warriors around on how to make the piles.

“ **How is she? We saw the Sky Girl leaving the tent looking really angry** ,” He said lowly as they made sure that no one was listening to their conversation.

“ **I don’t know. When I came in, she was sitting on the throne and I could see that however their conversation went, it didn’t have a good outcome and I guess I already what it was about. I’ve been in their places before and it can be really hard on a couple, but I am sure they will make up soon enough** ,” Anya said to him and he nodded.

“ **I hope you’re right about that Anya. For her sake, I hope you are absolutely right** ,” He said, and she nodded before they ended their conversation and each one went to fulfill their orders with Anya going to find the replacements for the dead generals, following the instructions that Lexa had given her, to make sure she didn’t choose the wrong ones.


	19. Nice talk

Kane, Raven and Murphy were sitting down outside of the Mountain all by themselves, the others having left, and they saw the moment where Clarke walked out of the tent looking incredibly angry. They also watched as she walked all the way to where Bellamy, Finn and the others were getting ready to leave and how she went along with them, leaving the camp, going back to Arkadia. That alone told them that whatever had been said inside that tent between her and Lexa had not gone smoothly as they had hoped and that worried them. Not because of their mission, they knew both girls would work hard to accomplish that but rather, they were worried about their relationship with each other.

“It must have been one hell of a fight. I wouldn’t have wanted to be there, not even to watch,” Raven said to them once the blonde disappeared from their line of sight and the other two nodded their heads in agreement.

“Of course, I can understand where Clarke’s anger is coming from. The pure fear of seeing what happened to Lexa last time happening again in front of her must have been overwhelming for her,” Kane said, and they nodded.

“Yeah, I mean, I was there when it happened, and it was not pretty to watch at all. She tried to so hard to make the bleeding stop but she just couldn’t. I don’t think she was even thinking straight once the bullet went in, she was just thinking she was going to lose her, and she did. She stayed almost an entire day, standing up and looking at the blood on the cloth. It was heartbreaking,” Murphy explained to them and they nodded.

“I can understand that. It was hard for me when he died too but, I don’t think it was as bad as it was for Clarke. I mean, with the way they feel for one another, it must have been ten thousand times more hurtful then it would be if it was anyone else,” Raven expressed her opinion, and the boys nodded.

“Yes, I agree but Clarke will have to understand and, in this Lexa would have to be the one to explain to her, that her life will always be in danger. She is the Commander after all and only death is going to change that, she will always have enemies, she will always have people that will try to assassinate her, challenge her to a fight, even poison her. If Clarke wants to be with her, she will have to learn to deal with that part of Lexa’s life as well or else it is not going to work, no matter how much they may love each other,” Kane explained to them and they nodded.

“And it is not like Clarke stays clear of danger as well. That girl calls for danger and for trouble wherever she goes. How good would she feel if the roles were reversed and Lexa tried to berate her for putting herself in danger or if Lexa tried to order Clarke to stand back? It would definitely not go well with Blondie. She is as much of a leader to us as Lexa is to her people and they both have to accept that about the other,” Murphy said.

“But it’s not easy. I mean, how well can you handle knowing that the person you love the most is in danger? Can you be so level headed that you are not going to instinctively try to shelter them as best as you can? Even at times putting yourself in danger in order to protect them? Wouldn’t you do that for Emori and you for Callie?” Raven asked the boys who looked at each other both knowing the answer to that question.

“With those two is the same. They both want to protect the other because they both know unfortunately what is like to lose one another. Lexa when Clarke went missing those months and Clarke when Lexa went to the Valley, if you know what I mean,” She said to them and they nodded understanding the analogy.

“You’re right. I guess that the fact that being leaders elevates the level of danger they face every single day makes it even harder for even one of them to think straight when it comes to the safety of the other which in turn will lead to more fights like the one they seemed to have had just now,” Kane said to them and Raven nodded.

“Yes, maybe but I also think that every couple has a way of working their problems out together, especially if they truly love each other. An understanding that may seem even odd to outsiders but that it is perfectly reasonable for them and they can live with it. Maybe the constant fights over who gets to be more protective of who is their way and they can work like that, can function as a couple like that,” Raven said to them.

“Not to mention that fights like that makes for the best kind of makeup sex there is and given how they are already, it is going to catch fire,” Murphy said jokingly. Kane only shook his head while raven slapped the back of the boy’s head.

“Get your mind out of the gutter for one second in your life douchebag and be serious about it. We are here in a poetic contemplation of our best friend’s love life and you are making stupid jokes,” Raven said to him shaking her head and he looked at her.

“Just a question. Is poetic contemplation the new term used for gossiping? Because if it is, I think it is the work of a genius,” He said chuckling, and Kane couldn’t help but chuckle at the joke and Raven just face palmed herself.

“I give up on trying to make a decent human being out of you, asshole. It is an impossible task and life is cruel for asking that of me. Just saying the truth,” Raven said seriously joking, and Murphy chuckled at that.

“Okay, changing the subject. What do you think of Jaha in that meeting? Was it just me or was he trying to compare strength and leadership rights with Clarke and got his ass handed to him big time like the idiot we have all come to agree that he is?” Murphy asked them as he expressed his opinions of the man in question and Kane sighed beside him.

“No, it wasn’t just you and he was doing just that. It is what he has been trying to do since the moment we arrived down here. To get the power back from Clarke but he has yet to realize that he can’t. Clarke and Lexa were born for this,” Kane said to them and they nodded.

“No shit. They were so important for our future that the PTB had to go through all of this trouble to make sure they can lead us together. He needs to get checked that he may hold the title of Chancellor, but Clarke is the one in charge and will always be even when she leaves for Polis. Even then, I think our people will always kind of search for her approval on things, needing her to be there,” Raven said agreeing with him.

“You’re absolutely right, Raven. Even after everything that has happened, even after those months away, she could still hold more power than any Chancellor because they can recognize that power in her. She is a natural leader, you can’t help but follow her and more and more of our people are realizing that Jaha is no longer the best option for the position. He can be very smart and can understand many things about being a leader, but he is a created leader while she is natural and the difference is staring at all of us in the face,” Kane explained.

“Well, I never liked the guy anyway for a number of justified reasons. If we didn’t know of Clarke’s plans to go to Polis, I would tell her to run for Chancellor and she would win definitely. Actually, I think that election would consist of her massacring him with the amount of votes she would get from the people,” Murphy said to them and they nodded.

“Yes, but we all know that Clarkes place is not here with us in Arkadia. Her place, I would dare say, is not even in Polis. Her place is wherever Lexa is. Be it at the capitol, or a village or a camp or in battle, Clarke belongs with Lexa,” Kane said thoughtfully and the other two sighed.

“Yeah but from what I saw of Blondie coming out of that tent, she will have a bot of groveling to do before all is well in Paradise again,” Murphy said as the two friends looked at him.

“Why do you say that?” Kane asked him.

“We know Clarke and I would like to think we are starting to know Lexa. Clarke is the impulsive one, she is the one most likely to explode, the one to let her emotions take control of what she is saying. Lexa is more calm, and given her work, already used to angry outburst, she would probably be the one to take what Clarke says to heart, be hurt about it and still make sure Blondie is okay so based on the way Clarke stormed off, I doubt Lexa was the one who said something that made her leave. It is more probable that Clarke couldn’t handle the conversation and left and for that, as well as for whatever she had said, she will need to do some groveling,” Murphy explained to them and they nodded.

“You may be right in your assumption, John. I only hope that they will not let such a thing tear them apart,” Kane said as he sighed before standing up, “Well, if you two young people will excuse me, I think it is time to try and rekindle an old friendship,” The man said and after the goodbye, was seen going to help Indra as he tried to struck conversation with the general.

“I miss her, you know?” Murphy said as he and Raven scooted closer together on the log of wood they were sitting down on.

“Emori?” She asked him as he nodded his head. Of course, she knew he was missing his girlfriend. She hadn’t become anything of the sorts to Luna and already missed the nightblood.

“Yeah, She is my first love, you know? I never thought that I would ever fall in love with anyone and given how we met, I wouldn’t have betted that it would be her either but, the more time I spent with her, the more I started to see that we were alike in many ways. We were both survivors, we both would do what he had to, we had a similar sense of humor, and so many things and I started to fall in love with her, even when I spent those three months trapped inside that bunker, I still thought about her and when I met her again at the mansion, I knew I wanted to be with her and I consider myself lucky that she decided to take a chance on me,” He said opening up his heart to the girl he had hurt so much at one point and that now he considered one of his best friends.

“Well, me and L, don’t see like such a love story compared to you guys because we had so little time together, but she was different, you know? With Finn, now I can see that our relationship was one sided, he loved me as a friend and I loved him as more and to not hurt me, he went along with it until obviously he met Clarke and fell in love with her. But he didn’t love me, he didn’t even see how much he was hurting me every time he rushed to her side even when she didn’t need him, how he was always searching for her in the middle of the crowd, wanting to be near her, it hurt so much, and he didn’t even see it. Not until I had the balls to call things off because not even that, he had the courage to do it for me,” Raven said as she continued,

“Then, he made that stupid decision to do you know what, not because our friends were missing but because Clarke was missing. He was searching for her, not for all of them,” She said, and Murphy couldn’t help but agree.

“Yeah, I could kind of see that too. He was asking for all of them but only really seemed to care about what was happening with Clarke. The way he killed the guy who had Clarke’s watch? I mean, I admit I kind of egged him on to kill the guy, I was still a remarkable douchebag back then, but I did it because I didn’t think he would do it. He just pulled the trigger and walked off like it was nothing. I never thought he would do something like that. Not peaceful Finn,” Murphy said to her and she nodded.

“Yeah me too. Then, they wanted him dead and I panicked. I still hated you for what you did to my leg and I took it out on you, which I am sorry for, by the way. It was a crappy thing to do,” She said to him sincerely, but Murphy just shook his head.

“With everything I did to you and everyone else back then, that was considerably less shitty than I probably deserved it,” He said dismissing her apologies. He understood why she had done it and couldn’t blame her. In her situation, he would have done the same.

“And then when he died, I was feeling as if I had lost the last family I had, like I was suddenly all alone and I started to push everyone away, simply focus on my mission which was to help Bellamy disable the acid fog. And then, Wick came along, and he was there, and he was helpful, I didn’t want to feel alone so I used him and then threw him away as if he meant nothing, which was another shitty thing I did. But things between us wouldn’t have worked out anyway. We’re too much alike to ever be anything but friends,”

“And then, I met her, and I felt drawn to her, to her eyes. There was so much pain in them, just like there were on mine and when we got to the island and we had the talk near the boat, I realized I was attracted to her. I know, terrible timing but it happened. The more time we spent there, the more drawn to her I felt, and when I had that meltdown and she took care of me, that was when I realized I was falling in love with her and if the world hadn’t been about to be destroyed I would have taken a chance and would have wanted to see where it would lead us,” Raven finished saying and Murphy gave her a genuine smile.

“Now, you will have that chance and hopefully without any world ending threat looming over our heads,” He said to her and she nodded before she laid her head on his shoulder and he put his head on top of hers.

“I hope so, Johnny. I really hope son,” She said to him and he hummed in agreement as they stayed like that, drawing comfort from one another, happy that they had the chance to do things over and become such good friends as well as to think about the two grounders who captured their hearts and hope that they too have a chance to be happy this time around with the people they had already chosen, even if they have to make the two grounders fall in love with them all over again. They were certainly worth the trouble.

However, that might not be as difficult mission to accomplish as they imagine.


	20. Taking a Break

The walk from the Mountain and back to Arkadia was done completely different than Clarke remembered when they had walked this same path after the defeat of the Mountain Men and despite everything that happened today, at least that was a reason for her to be happy. How couldn’t she be? The last time they did this, she had just decimated an entire population to save her friends and she was feeling completely suffocated by that weight as she kept replaying every moment of it trying to find a different solution for the problem as if that would somehow help her but coming up empty.

Given what Cage was doing, she had no time to think of another solution, if there was even one, she did what she had to do but that didn’t mean that realizing that she had been left with no other choice but that one made it any easier on her because it didn’t. Not even Bellamy pulling the lever down with her was helping her deal with it because in the end she knew that it wasn’t up to him. She knew she was grateful for his support during that moment, but that was all he did, support her decision. Her, not his. Her decision. She was the one who gave Monty the order to open the airlocks, it was her idea, it was her responsibility and most of all, it was her burden to bear.

The trip back home from the Mountain last time was done in complete silence, not only by her but by everyone else as well. No one said a word on the whole way back, all knowing that what happened in that place was haunting them all, and it was to cruel to be talked about so soon, if ever, and that there was no place for even a sound to be made. Not even those that were hurt made even a grunt of pain. She wasn’t sure if that silence was better or worse for her, but it was what it was. She was lost on her own mind and she suspected everyone else was as well.

This time around things were definitely better. All the way back, Clarke and her friends joked around and had a bit of fun. They would make fun of someone and have a good laugh over something that happened and there were tears but this time it was of laughing so much over a joke Max told them. Even Bellamy entered the joke and started playing with them as well and so did Clarke. She had to admit that there wasn’t even comparison between the two times as this one was the kind of environment she spent three months in exile dreaming of.

Her Dad and Jaha were up in front along with some of the guards and they were talking as well but Clarke couldn’t hear what it was from the distance but that was okay by her. She trusted her dad to handle Jaha and his craziness. He knew and agreed that his friend was losing sight of what was really important in his quest to become more powerful than her. She knew that between him, her mom, Kane and Wells, they would all be able to keep Jaha in check, at least for the moment, until Clarke could put her plan into motion.

“Hey Clarke,” Gavin called her, and she turned to look at him. “Turned grounder yet?” He joked and everyone laughed including her before she answered.

“Not yet, and you Gavin. Turned a man yet?” She said and they all wooed, and she shuffled his hair as they laughed a few more.

It was long eight hours of walking from the Mountain to their camp but in a much pleasant way, it felt like the time passed by faster and they finally came to see the gates of Arkadia in front of them. This time around, with her friends was nice and for a small amount of time, it helped her forget her fight with Lexa but the Commander was never too long away from her mind and Clarke sobered up a little bit as she let the others continue the joke as the gates opened and they started entering while she stood behind overlooking them. Finn continued on walking with them but Bellamy stayed back by her side the same way as he did before. The two of them stood watching their friends be reunited with their families and friends.

“I think we deserve a drink,” Bellamy said to her and she chuckled that he said the same thing as he had last time though with the difference of a smile in both of their faces.

“This time, I promise you we will have more than one. I kind of really need it,” She said to him sincerely and he nodded before he frowned a little as he looked at her.

“Are you sure you’re okay? I didn’t think you would be coming with us, I thought you would have stayed in camp. Grounder trouble?” He asked her and she sighed before shaking her head in negative.

“Girlfriend trouble,” She said truthfully, after all he did know about her and Lexa, she knew that she would be able to trust him with the information so why the hell not? He nodded.

“The fight? I couldn’t help but notice how you went to talk to her and the state you were in once you came out of it,” He asked her taking a guess and she nodded.

“Yep. Things were said, mostly from my part and I think that maybe the distance will help both of us to cool down before we can revisit the topic again,” Clarke said to him and he nodded.

“Will you be going back then? You’re not staying for good, like your Dad and the others?” He asked her and she nodded. No matter how big their fight was, Clarke would never leave Lexa again. This was only a momentarily trip.

“Yes, I’ll just spend the day here. There is a horse and you didn’t notice but a grounder has followed us. My guard. He can take me back when I want to.” Clarke said and Bellamy looked around searching for the guy but he couldn’t see anything.

“Where the hell is he? Are you sure someone has followed us? I didn’t see or hear anyone, much less someone with a horse?” He asked her and Clarke nodded smiling.

“Yes, and you won’t see him, unless he lets you so give it up. We are not grounder trained in the arts of stealth anyway. We made to much noise to hear anything as subtle,” Clarke warned him and he nodded, understanding her words.

“Well, then, forget about him. I say we make the most of your time here and have fun for once,” Bellamy said smiling at her and as she looked ahead and smiled, she nodded.

“I think I’m about to do just that,” She said, and he frowned at her until he heard, “Clarke!” he looked back and saw Charlotte running towards them, most specifically Clarke and throwing herself at the blonde who chuckled. “Woah. Slow down, comet,” Clarke said hugging her little sister.

“You’re back. I was worried that something had happened to you, Mom or Dad but he said that everything was fine,” Charlotte said to her and Clarke kissed the top of her head as she smiled at the younger girl.

“I’m alright, so is Mom, I promise, and I am here with you. There is no need to worry, okay?” Clarke said to the girl who nodded her head before hugging Clarke one more time then pulling back finally noticing the presence beside her sister.

“Hey Bellamy. Sorry, I didn’t see you there,” Charlotte said looking at him once she pulled back from Clarke a little and he smiled at her.

“Hey Charlotte. It’s okay, I could see how much you missed your sister. How are you?” He asked her and she smiled at him and at what he said. She loved hearing other people acknowledge her place in the Griffin family.

“I’m good. Glad you’re back and safe.  What about you? Was it difficult inside the Mountain?” She asked him curiously as any teenager and he smiled at her.

“Better. And it was but your sister and Raven helped make my life easier and thanks to that we won and saved everyone,” He answered her, shuffling her hair and Clarke smiled at them.

“Why don’t we go inside?” Clarke said to them and the other two nodded at her. They walked inside the gates as they closed behind the small group and Clarke watched up close the reunions as she stayed with Charlotte close to her.

Clarke wondered how the reunion had been like the last time. She had been talking with Bellamy and was too busy leaving that she didn’t get to see any of it. She hadn’t wanted to see any of it. She couldn’t stay to see a parent cry as they held their child, knowing that the only reason that was possible was because she committed genocide, because she murdered innocent people, children. The pain of what she did was crushing her enough without that image, that would have been the nail on the coffin, as people used to say in the Old World.

However, now that although she abhorred her actions, she had made her peace with them, she couldn’t help herself but ask if it had been anything like this, if there had been honest smiles on her people’s faces or if there had been forced ones like the one she had to give them until the end when she simply turned and walked away from it all. She wondered what would have happened if she had stayed. Would she have fought with Jasper because of her role in Maya’s death? Would she have adapted to the new Arkadia? Would she have developed a better friendship with Bellamy than the toxic one they ended up having before?

She didn’t know any of those answers and she also knew there was no point in asking them. Things were what they were now. The past can be used for comparison and for learning purposes, but this is their reality, a very good one at that, and this is the world where Clarke needs to live in now, this was her moment to enjoy the fruits of her labor in changed the past to achieve a better future. With that in mind, she clutched Charlotte closer to her. “I missed you Charlie,” Clarke said sincerely to her and the girl hugged tighter as well.

“I missed you too, Clarke. I wanted to go with you,” The young girl said as she looked up at her big sister and Clarke shook her head, sighing.

“Believe me little sis, you didn’t. There was fighting and death and too much blood. It was not a pretty sight to see and I am glad you didn’t see it,” Clarke said mournfully.

“But you managed to save who you wanted to save, right?” Charlotte asked her, understanding what Clarke had said to her and the older Griffin nodded smiling.

“Yeah, we did. The innocents were spared and only the guilty will be punished. So, it was a victory. But I had wished there wasn’t a need to fight at all, however their leader thought different and gave us no choice but to use force to win,” Clarke said to the little girl who nodded her head understanding what her sister was talking about.

“You gave them a choice even when they might not have deserved it. You tried to save them all even those that were responsible for the horrors they inflected, Clarke. In the end, that’s all that really matters, isn’t it?” Charlotte said and Clarke looked at her.

“When did you grow up?” She said jokingly and Charlotte smiled. The two of them were so into their conversation that they didn’t even notice that Bellamy had left their side and only noticed their father’s presence when he came up behind them and hugged them both.

“Two of my beautiful girls together. I am one lucky man,” Jake said smiling at them as he kissed Clarke’s head and then Charlotte’s as well as hugging them tighter.

“Hey Dad,” Clarke said to him as she pulled away from Charlotte to fully hug him, the smaller girl doing the same, putting him right in between them.

“When is Mom coming back?” Charlotte asked them.

“It will be a while yet. There is still much for her to do there,” Clarke said to her and the girl nodded. “And much for me to do here as well,” Clarke said, and her father looked at her.

“You will be talking to them about the donations of the bone marrow now?” Jake asked her and Clarke nodded, shrugging her shoulders.

“Yeah, since I’m here already, why not? But let them have this moment of joy first, then we will go straight to business,” Clarke said to him and he nodded.

“Clarke, are Murphy and Raven okay? I haven’t been able to talk to them yet,” Charlotte asked her, and Clarke nodded her head at the girl.

“They are all perfectly fine. Murphy and Raven, along with Kane stayed there to help with everything that may need to be done still. I will radio then to talk to you okay but why don’t we take use of this time for you and tell Dad and I, what have you and our people been up to since we left?” Clarke said and the small girl nodded as Jake kissed them both before they all walked away to a little table before sitting down and letting the newest addition to their family tell them everything. Clarke was happy but not completely and she figured she wouldn’t be until she solved her issue with Lexa, but she pushed that from her mind and focused on her sister. She could think about what to say when she saw Lexa again later. For now, Charlotte would have her undivided attention, the little girl deserved it.


	21. Coming Together

Clarke let a couple of hours pass by for the fathers and mothers to reunite with their kids and for her own friends to rest a little before she asked her father to call in everyone so she could speak with their people. She had originally planned for her father to do this but since she was already here, she decided to do it besides if anyone had any doubts about the procedure, she would be better equipped to answer it than him, so she decided to steel herself for whatever negativity may come her way because of it and to face this thing head on.

Bellamy had gotten her a stoop high enough and went to the entrance of the station while everyone gathered around to hear what she had to say to them. She took a deep breath and stepped up as she was able to see everyone that was waiting for whatever news she was about to deliver to them. She looked to her side and found her father’s comforting and encouraging gaze and gathering the strength she needed to do this and with a deep breath, she started speaking, hoping that she would be able to do this the easy way.

“Today, you have all been reunited with your sons and daughters that were trapped inside Mount Weather and that is a victory that cannot be overlooked. Despite all the odds stacked against us, with the grounders’ incredible help, we were able to secure the return of 59 of our people. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get there in time to save everyone and some of them have died, their bodies were burned along with the grounders who gave their lives as well so I would like for all of us to say our prayer to them in respect,” Clarke said to them.

“In peace, may you leave this shore,” She said, and they repeated. “In love, may you find the next. Safe passage in our travels until our final journey to the ground. May we meet again.” She finished and they repeated each sentence.

“May we meet again.” Everyone said in unison and after it there was a minute of silence in honor of their dead. Once it was over, Clarke took the spotlight again and carried on with her speech.

“Our people’s return was thanks to the effort of many people and some of them were from Mount Weather themselves,” Clarke said as she continued her explanation, “Bellamy infiltrated the Mountain and was our spy inside their walls, thanks to him and the work of two of our best minds, Raven Reyes and Kyle Wick, we were able to destroy the acid fog and march inside that place. However, I would like to highlight the fact that none of that wouldn’t have been possible if not for the help of some Mountain Men, who were ashamed of their leader’s actions and helped us from the start. One of them in particular, Maya Vie, who is now their appointed President was an important key to our victory,” She said and continued,

“Things is the Mountain Men, the innocent people that is living inside that place they need something to be able to walk outside without dying. Bone marrow transfusion. Our bone marrow. Which is why I am here today to ask you to donate some for their treatment.” Clarke said and the people started whispering amongst themselves. “I know it sounds scary to hear that. Especially for some of us. I know and I understand but there are children inside, men and women who fought for us, strangers that they didn’t know,” Clarke explained.

“Those people in there were one of the reasons why you can hold your son and your daughter in your arms again. Without them, our victory would not have been possible. Bellamy can attest to that. Bellamy, please,” Clarke called out for him and he looked around before he came to her side and stood in front of everyone. He looked at her and she encouraged him to go on and so he spoke.

“As soon as I got inside, I was sent to the harvest chamber and I would have been drained of my blood if Maya had not saved my life, helping me kill one of their guards and guiding me inside the place to help me get to my friends,” Bellamy said giving his testimony.

“Your own children can attest that the people of the Mountain risked their lives to hide them from the security, some even got killed for it,” Clarke said and many of their friends spoke up all at once to confirm what she was saying and she was glad they were on her side in this. It would make things very much easier for her. Once they were done, everyone looked back at her. “I wouldn’t ask you to do something that I wouldn’t do myself. Me and my friends have donated some and my mother, Doctor Abby Griffin is overseeing the whole process,” She said.

“I have donated, my friends have donated, we just need a few more volunteers,” Clarke said to them. “I will never make you do this if you don’t want to. If we cannot raise the number my mother said it would be needed than my friends and I will have to donate it all on our own, but I have hope that at a time like this, the Sky People will reattribute their gratitude and do the right thing,” Clarke said and looked at the people and waited before a hand rose up.

“I’ll do it,” Clarke looked around and saw that it was Miller’s dad, “If you say they are the reason why my son is still alive and why I have him back, then I would like to thank them by doing this.” He said firmly and Clarke nodded at him and Miller hugged his dad.

“I’ll do it too. They gave my daughter a chance,” Someone else said and Clarke smiled and soon hands started rising in the air and she smiled as she looked at Bellamy who smiled as well and at her father who was chuckling. She had done it. Clarke raised her hands and asked for silence so she could speak again.

“Those who want to volunteer, Finn and Bellamy will be gathering your names. Also be prepared to leave tomorrow morning towards the Mountain for the donation. And thank you very much for doing this. I believed in you and once again, you didn’t disappoint. I appreciate it,” Clarke said to them and they nodded and clapped their hand, applauding her and she smiled before she stepped down and went to hug her Dad while Bellamy steered the volunteers away towards where Finn was waiting with a piece of paper.

“I did it, Dad. I did it,” Clarke said hugging him and he smiled hugging her back tightly.

“I knew you would, kiddo. I knew you would. When you want something, you find a way to get it,” He said to her and she chuckled at him before pulling back as he looked at her. “I want you to know that I am so very proud of you for everything you have done. Not only in this battle but since we sent the 100 of you to the ground. I am the proudest father in this whole camp. In the 12 clans of the grounders as well,” Jake said as tears fell down on her face.

“Thanks, Daddy. That means so much to me, you will never know. I love you so much,” She said and he smiled.

“I love you too, Kiddo. Even more,” He said to her and she hugged him by the waist burying her face on his chest and relishing on the fact that she had him with her again and that she heard those words from his own mouth and knew that he truly meant them. It wasn’t just her imagination telling her that to make her feel better, he said it. Her Dad. Her father said the words and that meant the world to her.

Their father and daughter moment was interrupted by Jaha calling for her. “Clarke, the council would like to speak with you and you as well, Jake,” The man said to the two Griffins and walked inside the Station with the other council members following behind him and throwing a dirty look in Clarke’s direction and she scoffed once the last one passed by and she turned to look at her dad and saw the same expression reflect on his face and she smiled before she spoke to him.

“They are going to piss me off, aren’t they?” She asked him.

He looked back at her. “They are pissing me off already,” He said to her and she smiled before she held his hand and the two of them entered the station together and walked towards the council room.

“Dad, Jaha is going crazy over the power he feels he is losing to me,” Clarke said lowly to her father and he nodded.

“He can’t accept that he already lost that power and you took it by merit, not by force or by wearing a pin. You earned the people’s respect and, in the process made them loose the respect they had for him. He’s not going to be easy,” Jake said to her.

“I can handle Jaha and his idiotic council, of course, not counting with you, Mom and Kane,” Clarke said to him and he smiled at her.

“I know. And I also know that they are aware that they are the ones who can’t handle you,” He said to her and she smiled at him as they came to the room and the doors opened for them and they entered the room to find the councilors sitting down around the table and they also sat down side by side, with their hands still clasped together.

“So, what is that you wished to discuss with me?” Clarke asked them trying to sound polite.

“We have been watching the way you have ported yourself with the obstacles our people have faced since the first few of you came down here. I am proud to say that they would not have survived without you and your guidance and leadership skills. Skills that many can never possess,” Jaha started and she knew he was preparing the terrain for the blow that was sure to come soon enough. She nodded pretending to go along.

“Thank you for the compliments,” Clarke said to him and he smiled at her.

“You’re welcome.” He said and turned serious, “However, now, we have to see that our people’s leadership is here, in this council, in the Chancellor and as much as you have contributed for our people’s survival, now that the battle was won, we believe it’s time that things go back to the way they are supposed to be and that the council takes over leadership of our people as we have done for generations in the Ark.” Jaha said and Clarke just looked at him. “We don’t want to sound ungrateful for everything you have done, for the accomplishment you have are many indeed,” Jaha explained to her.

“But we can no longer ignore that we are being led by a child, no less a child that was sent to the Sky Box for brutally attacking a Commander of our Guard,” One of the council members, a woman named Debby said distastefully and some of the others agreed, Jake was about to speak up in his daughter’s defense, but Clarke squeezed his hand and when he looked at her, she shook his head at him letting him know that she doesn’t want him to do that. He frowned but nodded understanding that this is a battle she needs to fight on her own.

“Debby.” Jaha spoke and the woman looked at him.

“She is a child, Thelonious.” The woman said.

“Debby is right, Thelonious.” A man named Claudius said. “From the records, we can see that she is barely 18 and indeed was convicted for her behavior and what is the purpose of this Council if she gets to make all the decisions regarding to our people? Take the donation for example, we should be the ones to make the decision to let or not our people volunteer, not her. The time for her to step back and let the adults do their job is here,” Claudius said, and Clarke only looked at him as he said those things.

“I’m sorry, Clarke, Jake but we agree that this council is the one who needs to be in charge. It’s time you let us lead our people as we always have, Clarke,” A woman named Janet said and at least she was more polite and gentler with her words than the rest even if the sentiment was the same.

“Well, as you can see, we share the same opinion,” Jaha said and Jake looked at his friend.

“Not all of us. My wife, Marcus and I do not share the sentiment. Clarke has done more for us in the short amount of time in which she was the appointed leader of our people than this council has done in the time we have been a part of it,” Jake said and Clarke called to her father while shaking her head and he stopped talking before she looked at the people in front of her and could only think how embarrassing they were.

“If you want to get your power back, feel free. I am sure as heel not stopping you, but you know who is? The people. They don’t trust you to lead them the way they trust me, so you can try however you like but when push comes to shove, it is my approval they will look for, not yours. Go ahead. I don’t care about your bureaucracy, never have and never will. I will continue to take care of my people, that you cannot stop me from doing it. So if you have embarrassed yourselves enough for the day, I will enjoy a moment of peace with my friends. See you later, Dad,” Clarke said to them before she kissed her father’s cheek and left the room.


	22. Family Bonding Time

After the meeting with the Council, Clarke had left. She needed to breathe a little and she was kind of getting suffocated inside of the station, so once she was out and she was able to breath fresh air, she allowed herself to look around the camp. It looked different from the way it had been when she returned after her many months in exile and she could see how much her people had worked to make this place feel like home, how they have started to settle down roots in hopes that they would finally have a peaceful life, one that they had dreamed of for a very long time, never believing they would be the ones to have the chance.

She could also see how much Kane, her mother, Bellamy and Raven had helped with that. She had no doubt that it was the four of them working together that put this place in order and started changing from an unorganized camp, to a prosperous settlement. All of that could have continued if only Pike had not come along with his xenophobic ideas of superiority and destroyed whatever chance her people had of receiving help from the Coalition and the other clans to make their people thrive, and their own clan to grow better and bigger.

Clarke was lost in her thoughts about the past and what this peace between both people could mean for their future that she didn’t notice a presence beside her until this person wrapped their arms around her waist and she startled before she relaxed realizing who it was. She looked down at the small body wrapped around her own and couldn’t help but think of the change she was able to enact on the young girl’s life by reaching out to her and offering her a hand even before she found herself drowning in an ocean of pain.

The Charlotte she had met in the other timeline had been a shy girl, with terrifying nightmares born out of horrible memories, she had been an impressionable kind, who hadn’t known how to deal wither emotions and who ended up killing an innocent person because of the mistakes of another. A kid who had almost let an innocent person die because of a crime she had committed and who had chosen suicide as a way to escape her problems and for what Clarke judged, to be reunited with her parents wherever they were.

The Charlotte that was hugging her now was a happy kid. Surely, she still felt the death of her parents but Clarke, their friends and her family had made sure to show the girl that they were there for her and that helped her go through that difficult time and not succumb to the pain of the experience. Instead, it made her stronger and Clarke was incredibly proud of her. She was happy that she was able to offer the girl a family to count on, new parents who loved her very dearly, friends who were there to tease her or simply hug her. She had saved the young girl.

“You think way too loud, Clarke. What is going on in that mind of yours?” Charlotte said after a while of silence between them. Clarke chuckled before wrapping her arms around her sister.

“Yeah, I know that. I have been told so before and I was, actually thinking about you, silly. About how many things happened to you in less than a year and how you are the strongest 12-year-old girl I know,” She said kissing the top of Charlie’s head.

“Well, it wasn’t easy losing my parents because of the Ark’s idiotic laws,” Charlotte said, and Clarke chuckled but remained silent allowing the younger girl to speak, “but, I had all of you with me and you made it easier to bear. The pain. You al made sure to know that even though I lost them, I wasn’t alone. I had all of you with me, so I tried to focus on that and day by day, it hurt a little less. I still miss them but now, when I think about them, I think about the good memories we had and not the one bad memory of when they left,” Charlotte said to her.

“Well, I don’t think I can express how proud I am of you, Charlie. And I think that wherever your parents are right now, they are watching over you and I know that they will be as proud of you and we all are. You are one amazing kid, you know that? We love you very much. I love you very much. Never forget that,” Clarke said to her and Charlie looked up smiling at her.

“I love you too Clarke, all of you. You guys are my family. I am glad you talked to me that day at breakfast. It changed my life,” Charlotte said, and Clarke smiled.

“I am glad for that too. Now, tell me something I know you wouldn’t have told me in front of Dad. Are you interested in any cute boys?” Clarke said in a teasing voice and Charlotte shook her head, chuckling at her sister antics. “Any cute girls?” Clarke said and Charlotte shook her head.

“There is no one. Not be a snob or anything, but the kids here are too immature you know? They just want to enjoy themselves and spend their time playing. I want to spend my time helping Mary and Peter. If I was to be interested in any boy or girl, it would have to be someone that could understand that,” Charlotte said to her and Clarke was in awe of the girl. She has grown up so much.

“Well, I completely understand that, and I feel that if that really is the case, then you would have a better chance with the grounder kids. I have met a few and they are exactly the way you describe. I met a girl, I think she was about your age during the time we bombed the bridge, remember?” Clarke asked and Charlotte nodded. “Well, she had been severely hurt. The bomb had hurt her badly and when I asked Anya why she was there, she told me that was how they trained their seconds, like an apprentice. The girl is currently recovering in TonDC. Who knows? You may become good friends with her once you meet,” Clarke said to her.

“What is the girl’s name?” Charlotte asked her and Clarke answered, “Tris,” Charlotte nodded her head. “Yeah, maybe we can be friends,” She said, and Clarke smiled.

“Or when you want and alliances between us and the grounders are more secure, you can come with us to Polis. The Commander told me she has kids she trains to succeed her one day and form what she told me, I think you would like to meet Aden. He is maybe a year older than you and the most promising of them. He seems to be a really sweet and mature young man,” Clarke said, and Charlotte also nodded her head.

“Tris and Aden. I think I will like to meet them,” Charlotte said, and Clarke smiled at her before she saw Bellamy from a distance calling for her to join him and their friends for the long-awaited drink. She nodded at him and he smiled before going back to their table.

“Hey Charlie, the others are calling me to join them for a few drinks. Will you be okay by yourself for a while? Dad is talking to Jaha, but he should be done soon to be with you. Or do you want me to wait for him with you?” Clarke said and Charlotte shook her head letting go of Clarke.

“You don’t have to wait with me, Clarke. I am a big girl. I need to go check on my patients here too. I have somethings to study too. Mom said she will be taking me in full time as an apprentice once she is back from the Mountain. I will be fine. Go ahead and have fun for once,” Charlotte said smiling and Clarke smiled right back at her before she nodded. They hugged one more time, said their goodbyes before they each went their separate ways. Meanwhile inside the station, in the Chancellor’s office, Jake and Jaha were talking, or more accurately, arguing with each other about what have been discussed in the meeting and what had been said about Clarke.

“I can’t believe I am hearing these words coming out of your mouth, Thelonious. Since when did you become so intent in having power? When did our people’s needs feel in you lost of priority and your own greed became number one?” Jake said to the man.

“What exactly do you want me to say Jake? I am the Chancellor, yet ever since we have sent the kids down here, what have I been able to do for our people? Your daughter simply took over and left me without a chance to do my job,” Jaha said as Jake shook his head.

“Have you stopped to think why people reach out to her to make the choices and not you? Why they see her as our leader and not you? Because unlike you, unlike any of us from the Council, Clarke actually knows what she is doing. She knew exactly how to deal with the grounders, she knew how to protect the kids, she knew what to do to get them back from Mount Weather with the minimal number of casualties. Can you tell me that you would have done a better job? The answer is no, Thelonious,” Jake said.

“SHE DIDN’T EVEN GIVE ME THE CHANCE!!!!” Jaha said and Jake could only shake his head. His friend was losing control and he didn’t think there was anything else he could do.

“And this tantrum you’re throwing just proves why she shouldn’t have. I never thought you to be this kind of person Thelonious. I am deeply disappointed in you,” Jake said before he walked away from his friend as well.

Jake and Jaha met when they were little kids and quickly became friends. Thelonious was there when Jake met and fell in love with Abby as he was there for Jah when he met Amira, his wife. They were there for each other for the births of Clarke and Wells. Jake was there for him when Amira died and for everything that happened in the last 30 something years of friendship and yet he could no longer recognize the man that had been in front of him. He was a completely different person and Jake wasn’t sure he wanted to be friends with that person.

When he came out of the Station, he saw Charlotte sitting down almost as if she was waiting for him and he couldn’t help but smile. After the horrible conversation he just had with the Council who belittled the incredible work Clarke had done for them and the conversation with Jaha who was behavior like a petulant child who had his favorite toy taken away from him, he just knew that the only thing that would be able to put a smile on his face was one of his three girls and for the look of it, it would be the youngest one.

Although Abby and he weren’t Charlotte’s biological parents, they came to care for her as they cared for Clarke. It had made their day when the girl asked them if she could call them Mom and Dad, if she could be part of the Griffin family. They had wanted to ask her themselves but preferred to let the girl choose when she was ready for that. Whether they shared blood or not, she was his daughter, through and through. Jake couldn’t feel happier or grateful for how lucky he got to have three amazing women in his life.

“Hey, little one. What are you doing out here by yourself?” Jake called out to her and Charlotte looked up from the book she was reading and smiled when she saw him.

“Hey, Dad. I was waiting for you and catching up to some reading on anatomy that Mom told me to do,” Charlotte said as he moved to sit down beside her and lean back against the metal of the Station and put his arms around her as she leaned into his chest, feeling comforted and happy to have found the Griffin family, she had no idea what would have happened to her if Clarke had never approached her that day and she had no hurry to think about it.

“Where is your sister? Has she been called to fix yet another problem?” He asked her jokingly and she chuckled at him.

“Not yet but I am sure that until she has to leave again, that will come up. But for now, she was called to have a few drinks with the others. They are celebrating their return by getting wasted,” She answered him, and he nodded.

“And you, didn’t you want to go with them too even if you wouldn’t drink any alcohol?” He asked her and with how close she was to Clarke, he wasn’t sure why Charlotte wasn’t there with her sister. Charlotte shrugged.

“I guess I could go, after all someone would have to be their conscience, but I think you might need me more than Clarke does right now since Mom isn’t here and all,” Charlotte said and smirked at him while Jake full out laughed at the young blonde.

“You know, I am starting to think that you can be much wiser than a lot of these so-called adults,” He said to her and she simply shrugged as she adjusted herself against him and picked up her book and he simply sighed.

“Big surprise. Being a grown up only automatically means you’re old, Dad. Wisdom has nothing to do with age and it is time you and the rest of our people finally learn that,” She said as she continued reading where she left off and Jake looked down at this 12-year-old and after his encounter with the council and Jaha, he couldn’t help but agree with her words.

“I think I am starting to learn, little one. I think I am finally starting to learn that,” He said as he rested his head against the metal structure of the Ark and they stayed in a very comfortable silence, feeling content to have this bonding moment between the two of them.


	23. Seed of Doubt

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys. Sorry for the disappearance, I had this week filled with mid-terms exams and had to spend every hour studying so that is why there was no new update for a while now but it is finally over so we will be back to our schedule. So, starting from today, Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays will be update day. So here is the new chapter. Hope you enjoy. Don't forget to comment, I love reading your ideas of where the story is going and so on, but remember to be respectful about it.

After Clarke left, Lexa had to sit down a moment to take a break from all of the running emotions that happened in a matter of half an hour. Not only did she fight with more than half of her generals, she also had the first fight between her and her girlfriend and she absolutely hated it. She knew that between the two of them, this would be the first of many fights, after all they were both very stubborn, but she still hated it and hoped that they could talk about it and make up really soon because the thought of being mad at each other didn’t settle well with Lexa, but with how Clarke seemed to be angry, she knew it would take a while.

Meanwhile, her duty didn’t give her a rest, as it usually never did. Now there was the matter of who would succeed the generals that she killed. Lexa, more or less, knew about many of the seconds and she had an idea on more or less who Anya would choose for the role left by the dead generals she killed, however there was one in particular in which she would have to step in and she found she had doubts about doing this at all. Clarke had on one of their nights together, before the battle, talked to her about Echo kom Azgeda, an Ice Nation spy that Bellamy came to care for and that was with them at the end of Praimfaya and Clarke had asked her to find a way to keep the girl away from Nia.

Lexa had not understood what was so important about the girl that Clarke would make such a request, especially since she came from a clan that wanted both Clarke and herself dead but the blonde explained that from what she got to learn about the girl, she was not actually a bad person but she was loyal which compelled Lexa to ask Clarke what made her think that a simple talk from Lexa would be enough to sway the girl to their side and Clarke had said that during their time together in the wake of Praimfaya that Echo was always by Roan’s side and that they seemed to have a understanding of sorts.

Lexa then got thinking about some conversations she had with Roan in which he talked about a few friends he did have and she briefly remembered him mentioning someone named Echo and so Clarke’s request had become even more interesting for her, given that this person could be close to who Lexa hoped to soon enough proclaim the new King of Azgeda, but it was still a gamble to put this person as general of Azgeda but Clarke insisted that if they could reach her, she would be a good addition against Nia, when it came down to it so now Lexa found herself pondering that decision. Was it the best for her people? She would have to wait and see.

“ **Ryder, get Anya** ,” Lexa called out to the guard staying outside and heard him leave in search of her general and she knew Anya wouldn’t be too far away and she was proven right when almost immediately the woman entered her tent.

“ **You called for me, Commander**?” She said as she came to stand in front of Lexa on the throne and the younger girl nodded her head.

“ **Have you chosen all the new generals?** ” Lexa asked her and Anya shook her head in negative.

“ **Not all of them. I am having trouble choosing the generals for Azgeda and Rockline. I am not sure I trust either of the former generals’ seconds anywhere near you** ,” Anya said and Lexa nodded, grateful for the concern for her safety the woman showed.

“ **I understand. For the Rockline clan, there is a warrior there called Malik. His older brother is one of my royal guards, Shane. I think he could be trusted** ,” Lexa said as she remembered this piece of information and Anya nodded, making a note to go check this Malik guy for herself.

“ **Anything else, Lexa?** ” She said, taken the liberty of forgoing the formal treatment given that the two of them were alone in the tent and they could speak freely with each other

“ **Yes, there is something else I must talk to you about. Actually, I need your advice about it** ,” Lexa said talking to the woman who nodded though surprised a bit.

“ **Of course. Advice with what exactly?** ” Anya asked her curious of what could the younger girl be thinking that seemed so serious and Lexa sighed before she started speaking.

“ **Amongst the Azgeda prisoners that were rescued, there is a spy. Her name is Echo. Now, I have spoken to Roan about many things during his stay in Polis and I remember that during one of these conversations we had that he mentioned that this Echo was a friend to him so I have been wondering, would it be a good decision to get her as the new general of Azgeda or is it too risky? What do you think about it?** ” Lexa asked her friend and former mentor who seemed to frown deep in thought.

“ **Why do you think she is important that you would offer her such a prestigious position? One that could give her direct access to you? Especially if she is a spy. You know how Nia likes them, loyal and obedient** ,” Anya asked her former second who sighed.

“ **We both know that now with the Mountain Men destroyed the Coalition is in danger of breaking and Nia will be coming for me finally. It is just a matter of time. And we both know I plan not only to win but to make Roan the new King. Wouldn’t be an advantage to have one of Nia’s spies on our side? Yes, it would be but it is also a risk that I’m not sure is worth taking. Which is why I need your opinion in this matter, should I or should I not name her the new general?** ” Lexa asked her and Anya took a deep breath before she started speaking,

“ **It’s not an easy decision, that’s for sure. It is a gamble but even if you make her the general, she can’t have access to the tower or meeting any more than anyone that was a part of the Ice Nation delegation, could she?** ” Anya said and Lexa shook her head, “ **Anyone of Azgeda in Polis is a risk you’re taking, for all we know every single person in the delegation is spying for Nia and it is ready to do her bidding. We have our own spies in her territory as well as some infiltrated in her army, on the high ranks of it,** ” Anya told Lexa and the younger girl nodded. Anya was right about that.

“ **If you think that we can get this Echo and Roan on our side, then why the hell not? Whatever happens, you can always kill her as you killed the one before her**. **Or let Indra doing. I swear her hand was itching to grab her sword and kill that son of a bitch,** ” Anya said to her and Lexa seemed to think on her words and nodded.

“ **You are right. Every single person of the Azgeda delegation could be a risk to me so I will choose her for the job. Thank you, Anya** ,” Lexa said to her and the woman only nodded.

“ **But if I may ask, do you think that using Roan, you can get her to trust you over her own Queen? You do know that Nia makes sure her people worship her** ,” Anya said to Lexa who sighed.

“ **Indeed, I know but I am not trying to earn her trust, not now. It would be impossible to imagine such a thing but I am hoping I can at least put a seed of doubt in her mind as to the true nature of her Queen. Even if just for a moment, she questions if I am telling the true than that will already be a win because doubts spread like fire and it is hard to extinguish them, especially when it is based on the truth and like we said, we both know how and why Nia want them to worship her. She gives them no other choice** ,” Lexa said to her once mentor.

“ **And once upon a time, there were those who doubted that you would be a good leader** ,” Anya said to her and Lexa smiled.

“ **They still do, Anya. They still do**.” Lexa said to her chuckling a little as they both nodded before she turned serious again, “ **Go to the Azgeda section and call this Echo here along with Luhan** ,” Lexa ordered Anya who nodded and walked out to do just that. Luhan was the supposedly next in charge but that would change quite soon. Lexa adjusted herself and waited before Anya came in announcing them and the two warriors walked inside.

As usual, it took them a bit longer to acknowledge her with a bow but they knew better than to disrespect her after she just killed so many. “ **Commander**.” Luhan said followed by Echo who greeted her the same way as she observed the woman before speaking to them.

“ **I have called you both here for a simple reason. Your previous general was stupid enough to challenge me to a fight, he dared question my rule as Commander and he met his end. By my understanding, Luhan would to be named the new general of Azgeda for being Linus’ second, however I decided to change that and make Echo the new general** ,” Lexa said it one go, and both of the warriors were shocked by what they heard.

“ **Commander, I don’t understand** ,” Luhan said, frowning his head in confusion about why she would do such a thing and Lexa nodded understanding it before she explained.

“ **It’s quite simple, you are not yet a full warrior and therefore shouldn’t be the one leading the Azgeda army, not yet at least. You will find another First and continue on your training and once you are fully trained, you will be Echo’s second in command to replace her should anything happen** **to her for whatever reason** ,” Lexa said to them and she knew she made a good point. The boy was young and inexperienced, this being his first war, but by unspoken rule as Linus’ second, the role was supposed to be his.

“ **I understand, Commander** ,” Luhan said to Lexa and he was honestly relieved of not having the responsibility of the position on his shoulder so soon. Maybe one day.

“ **You can leave now. The new general and I must talk**.” Lexa said to him and he nodded before walking away from the tent, “ **Anya, stay outside**. **I want privacy for this conversation** ,” Lexa gave the orders and Anya tensed.

“ **Commander**.” She said as a warning that she didn’t trust the woman but Lexa just raised her hand and Anya nodded, understanding the gesture for what it was, a dismissal, before doing what she was told, finally leaving the two women face to face.

“ **No scars. A spy. Am I right?** ” Lexa asked her and Echo had a passive face, one Lexa knew so well. “ **I asked you a question general. It is only polite and respectful that you answer it**.” Lexa said calmingly bring her arms across her chest, gripping the blade she had in between her armor, just in case.

“ **Yes. I am. Commander,** ” Echo said finally and Lexa nodded her head, figuring out that reaching this woman would be harder than she thought but once again, this would not be the first time she convinced a spy to double-cross their leaders.

“ **You may be wondering why would I know you or trust you in such position, given the history between both our clans, more specifically, between your Queen and I** ,” Lexa said and the girl scoffed.

“ **You don’t trust me and I don’t trust you, so yes, I am wondering** ,” Echo said and Lexa nodded.

“ **No, I don’t trust you obviously but I know someone who does. Roan is a friend of yours, is he not?** ” Lexa said and the girl tried to keep her composure by the smallest twitch of a muscle, Lexa could see with how well she was paying attention to the girl, “ **He told me about you during one of our conversations when I asked him if he had any friends back home. Yours was one of the names he said. So, I decided to give you a chance. Luhan is not ready for the role and Roan holds you quite the high regard so why not?** ” Lexa said to her.

“ **However, you are loyal to your Queen who wants to see me dead which brings us to an impasse. How do you think we solve this impasse?** ” Lexa asked the warrior who shrugged.

“ **I don’t know, you tell me Commander. You are so knowledgeable. You must know everything** ,” Echo said to her, with sarcasm in her voice as Lexa smirked.

“ **How long have you known Roan for? Answer it** ,” Lexa said in a semi-authoritarian voice and Echo seemed to be pondering whether or not she should reveal such information but decided to do it anyway. It was not like it would harm her in any way to say so she took a deep breath before she answered.

“ **I have known him for 15 years** ,” She said honestly and Lexa nodded her head in affirmative.

“ **That is a long time. I ask myself, why do you think he is in Polis and not in Azgeda? Answer it** ,” Lexa asked her in the same tone of voice as the other woman frowned.

“ **Because you kept him as your prisoner for what happened to your lover, not allowing him to return home as punishment for it, was it not?** ” Echo said defiantly to her.

“ **No, that is wrong**.” Lexa said to her and Echo titled her head, just a little, “ **If that is the story your Queen has told you, then I am afraid she is lying. He was sent to Polis by your Queen to be killed for what happened to my lover, not imprisoned. I was merciful and let him live, instead of striking him down but the point is she wanted him dead. Did you know that?** ” Lexa asked the woman who looked at her and Lexa could see the seed entering her mind.

“ **What do you think she had in mind when she sent him to Polis with the head of my lover? What do you think she thought my reaction would be? To kill the messenger, perhaps? If so, why personally send her son to such a fate. Have you asked yourself those questions before, Echo? I don’t think so but maybe now it would be a good time** **for you to start and maybe you will realize that you don’t know your Queen as well as you thought you did and believe me, you don’t. Perhaps, now you will see her for who she is** ,” Lexa said looking at the woman who seemed struck by confusion and Lexa knew she had accomplished her mission.

“ **For now, this will be all. For the next meeting, I expect to see you at your new post and I look forward to dealing with you, Echo Kom Azgeda** ,” Lexa nodded at her and Echo gave her a small bow before she left and Lexa finally relaxed a little, being around Azgeda was always a tense moment for her because from them, she always expected the worse. Thankfully, there was no problem this time and she knew that she was able to put the seed od doubt inside the spy’s mind, which now would only fester once she started questioning everything she thought she knew about her Queen.

That was the problem with the Azgeda population. Nia has them trained to not think, if she says something, they just accept and not one of them seemed to be able to ask even themselves why she did such a thing or what are the benefits of such decision. But that was fickle because the moment they started it, Lexa was pretty sure she would have her work cut out for her and perhaps would even be a rebellion happened in the cold territory. However, she would take the small win she had to day and wait for what was to come for her decision in regards to the new general and maybe former spy of her biggest enemy.

Anya came inside once the other woman left and stared at her. “ **Are you okay? She did anything to harm you? She will pay with her life for it, if she did** ,” Anya asked her and Lexa shook her head.

“ **No, I was the one that did something to her. The seed has been planted and now, we wait for it to grow**. **And once it does, something tells me Nia will have one less spy on her side and I will have one more on mine** ,” Lexa said to her general.

“ **What did you tell her to make you believe that that is a possibility**?” Anya asked her, curious about what method she had used and Lexa looked at her. 

“ **I simply told her the truth about Roan’s banishment or at least his punishment so we are good for now. But, either way, keep an eye on her for precaution. I still don’t trust her** ,” Lexa said to her and Anya nodded in affirmative.

“ **Very well done, Commander. Well done** ,” Anya congratulated her. Lexa smiled before the woman started to give her the update on the generals she had chosen or the job and all in all, Anya did a very good job. Lexa knew and had very good impressions of all of them so that would be a good place to start. However, once she dismissed Anya, her mind brought her back to the argument she had with Clarke and she wished that the girl would come back soon so they could talk about it. She hated being apart from her Sky Girl but for now, Lexa decided to focus on her work so she started to pay attention to what ANya was talking and went back to work.


	24. The Drink

Clarke had followed Miller to where her friends were and she sat down beside Bellamy as he finally served the drink that they talked about so many times before, making the two of them laugh at their inside joke. She was happy to be there with them, to have saved them, to have achieved a much better outcome than the last time she did this, to have not run away the same way she did before, for enjoying herself. She was thankful for all of them for helping her complete part of her mission, however, she couldn’t say anything of that to them.

But even as she sat there, drinking and joking, her thoughts once again went straight to one subject, her girlfriend. Her fiancée. Lexa. Clarke was definitely feeling herself calmer now than she was when they were talking about the issue at hand and if she thought about what they discussed, she could see Lexa’s point of view and even understand what happened or better yet why it had to happen, which she judged was what Lexa was trying to get to understand to begin with. And she admitted that the other girl had valid reason for doing what she did. She was trying to prove her strength to make sure that her people didn’t question her, which could have been dangerous for them both as well as for everyone else.

But at the time that she was able to understand all of that, all she could see was Lexa and the danger she had been in, she could see each of the generals going towards her, trying to hurt her, trying to kill her, she could see every attempt they did to win against the woman she loved and she could feel the dread she felt expecting on of those attempt to pay off and once those thoughts entered her mind, everything just became about that and she may have said things she shouldn’t have or run away when she should have stayed or been intolerant when she should have tried to understand her girlfriend better.

But Lexa also didn’t seem to try and understand her point of view and didn’t try to understand where she was coming from. The brunette knew about what she had to go through watching her die the first time around, but she couldn’t understand what that did to Clarke on an emotional level. It was torture. She was a good healer and she could do nothing to save the one person she had wanted to save the most and all she could do was to slowly watch the girl bleed out in front of her and kiss her as she drew her last breath. It was a horrible experience that broke something in her and Clarke never wanted to go through that again. Losing Lexa.

She wanted her to understand that, validate her worry and assure her that it wouldn’t happen again, but she suspected that adrenaline and emotions were running high for Lexa as well and that they both said what they didn’t want instead of what they really wanted. Which is why Clarke thought that this distance did them good. It helped her come to terms with her own thoughts and feelings and to perhaps find the best words to express what she was and is feeling about the fight and maybe it had the same effect on Lexa as well and when they talked about it, they would make up and things would be alright between them again.

She loved Lexa so much and an argument like this would not change that, to be honest nothing ever would, she hoped that the brunette has understood why she left and didn’t get the wrong conclusions but she would be returning to camp soon enough and they could talk them and put all the cards on the table and get over this small bump in the road of their relationship. Clarke had those thoughts in her head when a small cup was put in front of her and Bellamy sat down beside her with another glass and a bottle of booze.

“It seems we are finally able to cash in that drink you promised me all those weeks ago,” He said to her and she nodded her head smiling while she watched the others joke around.

“Alright but I have to get back to the camp soon. Although I trust Kane and the others to take care of things, I want to be there,” She said to him and he nodded filling in their cups, and they clinked them together before doing drinking it all at once.

“Oh my God, what is this?” Clarke asked as she felt the burn down her throat and Bellamy chuckled as he felt the same effects as she did.

“I got it on the Mountain. It’s called tequila. Good, right?” he said as he filled their cups again.

“Strong, that’s what it is,” She said jokingly, and they drunk it again and she coughed again smiling. This was nice. They had gathered many tables and out them together, so each small group was talking, and she couldn’t remember when they had ever done this. Never, probably.

“How are things going on?” Clarke asked him as she settle back against her chair, trying to avoid Finn, who was staring at her and Bellamy did the same.

“Well, if you are asking me about the volunteers, we had more than 70 but we stopped at number 50th. Your mom said that they would only need 35, I’m giving her 15 more just in case so that is going very well indeed,” He said to her as they continued drinking.

“And you? What did Jaha want?” He asked her and she sighed, taking a large gulp. And she had to take a deep breath to calm down her anger thinking about the words the man said to her.

“He was the asshole he has always been, trying to be more powerful than I am. His bruised ego showing as well as the council’s, what else do you think?” She said and he filled their glass again.

“Cheers to that, my friend,” He said to her and they drank.

“Truth, he and the council wanted to politely tell me to fuck off and let the adults take charge now. As if they have done a better job than me. They would never had made a truce with the grounders, they would have rather we go to war or run away from here and our friends in Mount Weather would be dead by now,” She said to him and he nodded.

“Yeah, I mean, you kept us alive since day one and made all of this possible. And let’s not even talk about how you stopped me from causing the death of 300 of our people,” Bellamy said to her and she nodded.

“Exactly my point. I know I’m young and that I am not the Chancellor but I’m not a child for them to try and treat me like one. Not wanting to sound convinced, but I am a better than leader than all of them combined,” Clarke said and Bellamy nodded.

“I know, they think that just because they’re old that means they know better than us but if there is one thing we know better than them is this place. We have been here for almost a full month more than they have and you have been our leader through everything that has happened to the 100 and our people as whole. They can’t just try to replace you like this, the people will not like it,” Bellamy told her, and she nodded.

“They know that, which is why they want me to step back. Only thing is that I won’t. Cheers to the youth who inherited the Earth,” Clarke said to him drinking again.

“Cheers,” He said and they dank again, “What about you and that person? How did that happen anyway?” Bellamy asked her and she smiled at him and at his question. Luckily, the others were not paying attention to them, “I mean, we all kind of knew there was something there since TonDC, but I didn’t think it would happen so fast,” He said to her and she nodded.

“I know and there was from the first moment I met her. Neither did I but there was just something that I couldn’t resist when it came to her and soon, I found myself falling quickly and deeply in love,” Clarke said to him and he looked shocked at her.

“Love? You sure that is what you feel for her? Isn’t a little too early to say that?” He asked her and she nodded her head understanding what he is coming from.

“I get what you are saying. It took me by surprise too but yes, I am sure it is love. We complete each other in a way no one ever could, and I know it seems too early to know, but that is what we both feel for each other. There is absolute no doubt in mind that I love her,” Clarke said to him and he nodded seeing her sincerity before he looked around and his eyes settled on Finn.

“I don’t think everyone will take to that news once it comes out. Especially him,” Bellamy said motioning to the guy with his head and Clarke looked at him as well and sighed.

“Well, I’m sorry for that. I never meant to hurt him, I really didn’t but I am not going to live my life thinking about everyone else. I deserve to be happy and I am, with her. Finn will have to accept that,” Clarke said to him and she took another shot at her drink.

“Ouch. That was cold, Clarke. The guy is head over heels in love with you and it is actually quite painful to see him try everything her can to get your attention. Even now,” Bellamy said looking back at her and she sighed.

“Actually, no it isn’t cold. He will be hurt but he will move on. Finn thinks he is in love with me, but he doesn’t even know what that means yet. It means looking inside someone’s eyes and seeing a version of yourself you never knew existed because you needed them to bring it out of you. It’s feeling like home is not a place but a person. It’s looking at someone and think that this is not the first time you met them.” Clarke said some examples of how she felt with Lexa.

“It’s looking at someone and feeling the need to keep them safe and out of harm. Or feeling like they are important to you even if you only just met them,” Bellamy said seeming out of it and Clarke looked at him shocked by his words before she watched him come back to reality.

“Sorry, I spaced out a little. What were you talking about?” He said to her and she chuckled as she looked at him and smiled teasingly.

“Bell, are you in love with someone and you are holding out the information from me?” She asked him and he looked at her and knew that there was no way out of it.

“I don’t think I’m in love with her yet but there was something there, I guess. I mean, if we had the chance, I may see myself falling for her,” He said shrugging and she leaned forward.

“Okay, since you know who my girlfriend is, you have to tell me who is yours,” Clarke said although she already had inkling to who he was talking about, but she still wanted him to say.

He looked at her and sighed before he spoke. “Okay, so when I was in the harvest chamber in one of the cages, I started banging against it, trying to get out but then this woman said something in their language and I told her I didn’t understand what she was saying and she figured I was a Sky person and when I nodded, she spit on my face then I told her we were allies,” He said smiling at her and she smiled back at him.

“Woah, you really know how to make a first impression on a girl, don’t you Blake Boy?” She said to him and he chuckled at her leaning back against his chair as well.

“Well, do you want to hear the story or not? I have no problem to stop talking about it. It would probably save me from a lot of embarrassment and teasing from you,” He asked her, and she chuckled before motioning for him to continue.

“Go on Romeo. Don’t stop on my account, tell me how you swooped your Juliet off of her feet or better yet, her cage,” She said to him and they both chuckled.

“Well, later some of the guards came and they were going to get her, so I made some noise to distract them from her and to draw attention to me and it worked. They took me instead and started draining me for my blood. Maya came along and helped me down but there was a guard and he was going to kill me but the girl, Echo’s her name, she held his arm before he could do it and I was able to get the upper hand and I killed him. She saved my life. I wouldn’t have been able to get inside the Mountain if she hadn’t intervened too, so I promised I would come back for her and I did,” He told her.

“Wow. What a story. It really does sound like a Romeo and Juliet kid of meeting, don’t you think? One look at her from across the cage and you’re a goner,” She told him, and he nodded.

“Well, yeah. I know but there is something different about her and I don’t know, I just feel good when I’m around her. I would like to get to know more about her, but she will return to her clan and I won’t be able to so there’s that,” He said to her drinking from his glass and she smirked at him.

“Well, luckily for you, I have a good relationship with a certain Commander, and I could, you know, put in the word for you to keep your Juliet closer,” Clarke said, and he seems surprised before he moved forward and smiled.

“Really? You mean that?” He said to her and she nodded at him. He laughed as she joined him and laughed as well. “That will be awesome,” He said, and she nodded.

“I got your back, Romeo. Trust me. You will have your chance to properly court your Juliet. Although I think she will be the one sweeping off of your feet and throwing you on the ground if she is anything like Lexa or Lincoln,” Clarke said to him, and he chuckled before he grabbed the bottle and lifted her direction.

“More?” He said offering her and she nodded moving her cup forward.

“Go right ahead.” She said and he filled it along with his own and they raised their glass. “To the grounders,” She said and he smiled.

“To the grounders,” They downed their drinks and put their cup on the table.

“Hey guys, what are you talking about?” They heard and looked to see Miller and the others looking at them as Clarke once again tried to ignore Finn’s stare. It was starting to irritate her. “Nothing in particular. Bell was telling me how he managed to get out of his cage and infiltrate the Mountain,” Clarke said as they pulled out some more bottles from their bags.

“Where is all this alcohol coming from? Seriously. Did you guys assault their liquors cabinet or something like that?” Clarke joked and Miller and Bellamy nodded.

“Pretty much. We couldn’t survive on Monty’s moonshine forever, could we? That things is disgusting. No offense, Monty,” Nathan said and started pouring some more drink for them.

“None taken but next time, you try to create alcohol from nothing. See if you can do a better job at it, Miller,” Monty said to them and everyone started to laugh.

“Burnt,” Clarke chuckled as she joined their laugh while teasing Miller and as everyone joined the general conversation, Clarke took a chance to look around and from the distance, she was able to se her Dad and Charlotte by the entrance of the station and seeing them so cozy made her heart flutter at the cuteness of it all and she was happy the girl was bonding with both of their parents. Knowing that they were okay, Clarke tuned in back in to the conversation her friends were having about who had hooked up with who and the topic brought Clarke to the thought that the only person she is hooking up is miles away from her. Maybe, she will stay a while longer, but she will probably go back before it is night time. That was the plan.

 

But plans don’t last very long in battle, do they?


	25. Helping a Friend

Lexa finally finished the meeting with her new generals and she already preferred them to their predecessors. Four of them were in awe of her and according to her personal generals, were all incredibly loyal to her, her views and were also very angry at the disrespect shown to her by those who spoke in the name of their clans. They even made sure to tell her that those words said by the previous generals were not shared amongst their people which was a very good thing for her to hear. It meant she wouldn’t have so many problems as she was afraid she would, given the unhappiness some of her decisions may have caused amongst her people.

Two of the other generals preferred to bow their heads, recognizing her as their Commander but they mostly stayed quiet and of course, there was the new Ice Nation general, Echo. Lexa had not known the woman personally but she had indeed talked to Roan about people in his clan that he trusted would side with him if it ever came between a choice of him and his mother and Lexa remembered that Echo was one of the names he said would support him and that knowledge and Clarke’s personal request made it for her to nominate the girl to the post.

The thought of Clarke brought a sigh out of Lexa as she relaxed against her throne, that was once again, her choice of resting place. During the meeting, it was easy for Lexa to push the thoughts of the blonde from the front of her mind since she was needed to deal with her people’s troubles and problems as well as given them directions if they needed. Lexa had always been able to push her feelings aside if it was time to take on her Commander duties, something that used to unnerve Costia to a great length and which would be funny to Lexa to do just to see how far she could push the girl’s buttons before she exploded in a very adorable display of irritation and anger, Lexa thought fondly.

But now that she was alone with her thought and there was no immediate problem that needed her to fix it, Lexa couldn’t help but let the blonde invade her mind and take control of it as it was usual for her to do it. She thought back about their fight and the fact that the fight did not go where Lexa had hoped it would and she knew it was partially her fault. Not because she fought her generals despite Clarke’s complaints of how she shouldn’t have, but because she was not able to talk to the blonde about it. She did not find the right words to get Clarke to understand her and she believed neither did the blonde.

They were both running on emotions, her in adrenaline, Clarke in worry and it was not a good combination for a talk of the weight and importance for their relationship in the future as this one was, is. Lexa knows that this is a subject in which they have to broach and talk it out civilized if they want to make their relationship work. She needs to understand Clarke’s point of view and she needs the blonde to understand hers so they can try and reach a common ground that works for both of them so that they don’t have to keep fighting about the same thing over and over again every time a similar situation happens.

However, Lexa knew it was not going to be an easy conversation to have with the blonde. She remembered that when she had the same talk with Costia it was not as hard and she credit that to the fact that unlike Clarke, Costia never had to watch her die and the fact that for her it was their way, a way she believed in and so it had been a lot easier to talk to her than Lexa believed it would be to talk to Clarke even because even if she didn’t like it, Costia did always see herself as one of Lexa’s subject and although she often treated her as just Lexa, Costia would not push her limits, no matter how much she disagreed with Lexa’s decision.

And pushing her limits is all Clarke has done since the first time they have met, and it is one of the many things that first drew Lexa towards the blonde. The fact that they were equals and that Clarke knew how to demand that equality from her without being disrespectful. It was one of the reasons why Lexa bowed down to her after Clarke had to do it in the summit. It was not only because she had wanted to do it, or because she wanted to show Clarke that she was serious about what she was saying and swearing to the blonde.

It was because she wanted Clarke to see that Lexa didn’t want her to be less equal to her even if Lexa could never do it in front of anyone else. She wanted Clarke to know that even if Heda could never bow down, that Lexa could and that it made them equal. That is how their relationship always was, it was one of the reasons why Titus hated the blonde so much in comparison to Costia. Because her former lover never had a say in the Commander’s business, never expressed or had the power to interfere with a decision but Clarke did and quite often.

Costia and Clarke had many similarities between them but this was one point in which they were opposite. Clarke was fierce, a leader, hard headed, a partner in life and in duty. Costia was gentle, a merchant, a wild spirit and a lover. They were different and Lexa needed to remember some times that it meant she needed to treat them differently. Costia was raised with fighting and death, Clarke wasn’t. Costia wouldn’t question her on something like this but Clarke would and she needed to learn how to deal with the blonde’s questioning character.

Lexa was done for the day and take some time to rest so she walked out of the tent and in the direction of where her horse was, Gustus never too far away from her as his position as her personal guard demanded of him, Anya seemed to be coming with her as well. “ **Commander**.” The general said nodding and Lexa nodded back at her before turning to Ryder with a message.

“ **I’m going back to camp, Indra will be in charge of anything here** ,” She said to Ryder who nodded before leaving to deliver the message to the general as she went up to her horse, mounting it and galloping away with her generals following closely on their own horses, to guarantee her safety on her trip.

It took them all about half an hour to get back at camp, especially now that certain routes could be taken safely, with the Mountain Men no longer being of any danger to them. As soon as they reached the camp, Lexa got down from her horse and a warrior came to take its reins and him away as Lexa made her way back to her tent which had everything she needed in this moment and that was her bed. Once she was inside her tent, she spoke to Gustus and Anya.

“ **I’ll meditate so I do not want to be disturbed. Not unless it is something that absolutely needs my attention. If you can deal with it, do it** ,” She said to them and they nodded.

“ **Of course, Commander** ,” They both said in unison, “ **Have a nice rest and trip** ,” Anya said to her as she left along with Gustus and Lexa was finally alone.

She stripped down from her armor, shoulder pad and boots, staying in just her tank top and her pants as she sat down on her bed with her legs crossed. She closed her eyes and concentrated and tried to relax her mind while meditating and soon enough, she was able to go to the Citadel. Clarke had not had access to the Citadel even when she took the Flame herself. Differently from the City of Light where anyone who took the chip had access to, the Citadel had a mind of its own and would let in those who they judged to be worthy.

Clarke was not a nightblood so she was rejected, passed by the Flame without even knowing about this place. Having been in the City of Light herself, Lexa had to admit that Becca took her time in creating the Citadel. It was a beautiful place, the completely opposite to the coldness of the City of Light and given the AI who was in charge of it, Lexa was not even surprised. The Citadel was like an old word white castle surrounded by nature and water. Trees and animals running around, rivers flowing through it. A river in special had its course through the inside of the castle and it was mesmerizing. Lexa still remembered the first time she came here as soon as the flame was inserted in her neck. She had been in awe.

In the Castle, every Commander that has died, and now only live in the Citadel, had their own quarters and it was always a very big one with elements they loved as well as reminders of their respective clans. For an example, Trina kom Floukru, her room reminded Lexa of a boat, the river that passed through her room had many fishes. For Ava kom Azgeda, her room had things related to snow and the coldness her clan was famous for and so on. Lexa wondered if she still had her own room in here given that she had died even if it was in the other timeline.

“The answer to your question would be yes. Your room is still here and as you left it, Lexa,” A voice behind her said as Lexa stood in the entrance and turned around to see her favorite Commander after Becca Pramheda herself. Ema kom Louwoda Kilron Kru was the 10th Commander in their history and a very good one at that.

Ema was the youngest Commander in their history to have ascended, Lexa having the second place. Ema had only been 10 years old when she rose to the throne and was not ready for all the war that she was faced with back then, however she was wise beyond her years and lasted a total of 6 years in command before the Great Wars started and she died to save her only remaining nightblood from being slaughtered. Even though she was much younger, Lexa had always found Ema to be a very good listener, a wise adviser and the one who most understood Lexa’s desire for change and always encouraged her to do just that.

“ **Ema** ,” Lexa said to the girl with a smile on her face and the girl smiled right back at her.

“ **Hi Lexa. It’s been a while since you have been here and not since you have regained your memories from the Valley** ,” Ema said as they hugged and Lexa nodded.

“ **I know, things just have been so busy, I almost didn’t find the time to breathe, much less come here** ,” Lexa said pulling back from the hug and they smiled.

“ **I can see that. I have been watching and I am glad to be the first one to congratulate you in finally getting rid of the Mountain threat. You did good, kid** ,” Ema said and Lexa smiled.

“ **Kid?** **I’m older than you. You haven’t forgotten that piece of information, have you?** ” Lexa said teasing the younger girl as they usually did whenever they met each other.

“ **I’m sorry but if I was still alive, I would be 67 years old so no. You’re still the kid** ,” Ema said to her and Lexa chuckled, Ema always called her that anyway.

“ **You said that my room is still here. Why? How? Shouldn’t it have been reset when I came back to life?** ” Lexa said to her friend and Ema smiled.

“ **Why don’t we go there and talk on the way about whatever is bothering you that you have decided to come and see me?** ” She said and Lexa nodded as they started walking, “ **Well, as you know time and reality are different in the Flame. The Valley reset time but it could not reset the Flame so while the version of you who stayed here merged back with your mind, the changes made here for you stays. Got it?** ” Ema explained to her and Lexa nodded.

“ **I think so**.” Lexa said and looked around, “ **Where are the others? Noah is usually always by the river and Kira is usually not too far away from wherever you are. It’s weird not seeing her around you** ,” Lexa asked about the 5th Commander, Noah kom Sangedakru and the 9th Commander, Kira kom Louwoda Kilron Kru. Being her predecessor and her big sister even though she was younger in appearance, Ema was always the closest to Kira who was 17 years old. She was only Commander for 4 years during the time the Great Wars happened and she died poisoned by her servant that was a spy from an enemy Clan.

“ **We had a fight and she is taking some time for herself** ,” Ema said shrugging and Lexa smiled. Being sisters meant constant fights, “ **Well, here we are**.” Ema said as they stopped in front of two big doors and Lexa had them open and she was greeted with her room. Her room had two things which were important to her. Trees going around the room, reminding her of her clan and the roof of her room was the sky and it would darken at night and clear in the day, it was her remainder of Clarke. It was also filled with books given her love for them.

“ **I miss and don’t miss this place at the same time. You know what I mean?** ” Lexa said as she looked around and Ema nodded her head with an understanding look on her face.

“ **Yes, perfectly**.” She said and Lexa nodded, “ **So I was watching you during that fight and I have to say you were amazingly good** ,” Ema said and Lexa smiled as she picked one of her books and looked at it.

“ **Thank you, but I didn’t do much. They were just not that good and were making for poor generals which also meant weak army** ,” Lexa said as Ema sat down on her bed.

“ **Agreed. But I also saw the fight you had with the Sky Girl. Clarke, is it?** ” Ema said and Lexa nodded sighing as she turned around and rested against the table and put the book down before she crossed her arms.

“ **Yes, we ended up fighting because of it and now that I had time to think about it, I feel bad for how we both handled it** ,” Lexa said and Ema crossed her legs up.

“ **Well, you know that I was not in any relationship during my time as Commander so I am only speaking from a no experience perspective. I may be wrong, but I think you were a bit insensitive towards Clarke’s feelings** ,” Ema said and Lexa looked at her.

“ **You think so?** ” She asked and the young girl nodded her head.

“ **That I know from experience because I do that on a daily basis with Kira. She is always worried even here where there is nothing to worry about, no danger lurking around in the corner and sometimes I lose it and berate her for it but I understand that she loves me so much that the thought of anything happening to me is unbearable to her** ,” Ema continued,

“ **I think that maybe for Clarke is the same thing. Clarke had to watch you die in her place with a bullet that was meant for her, as Kira had to watch me die to protect her. It is hard for them not to remember that and the pain that comes with it, but with an aggravating feeling which is the fear that it will happen again. That we will get hurt, that they will fail to save us and will lose us again and sometimes that fear clouds their senses, their mind and they say stuff they don’t mean, they berate us for things they should understand**.” Ema said to her.

“ **Look at you for an example. You had a bad experience with primarily being the reason that Costia was killed and even though Clarke is a different person and nothing like that has happened to her, just the thought of it happening makes you want to keep her locked away somewhere safe, doesn’t it?** ” Ema said with a knowing look on her face and Lexa nodded.

“ **The same thing is for Clarke except it is ten times worse because she didn’t see someone else die, she saw you die and she couldn’t do anything to save you. She is terrified that she will lose you again so she wants to lock you away somewhere safe too. You can’t fault her for that Lexa. She loves you and that means she will always worry for your safety the same way you will always worry about hers. What you both need to do is to find a common ground that can work for both of you so you don’t have to keep having the same fights about the same things again and again. That is just my humble opinion, of course** ,” Ema finished giving her opinion.

“ **No, you are right but I think that the problem with me and Clarke is that for all the love we have for each other, we have both been hurt by each other and we haven’t talked about it. We have unresolved things between us and are just overlooking them in favor of being happy to be reunited. Maybe for us to have a way forward, we have to revisit our past and deal with what needs to be dealt with so that we can finally move on together** ,” Lexa expressed some of the thoughts that have passed through her mind on her way to her camp.

“ **Absolutely. That is the way to make a good base for your relationship to stand on. Once you get the chance, talk with her. Lower all of your walls and let her see the wounds she created on you and help her do the same. When you do that, talk and more importantly listen to her feelings and to yours. Try to understand things from her point of view and help her understand things from yours and I am sure things will be much better for the two of you** ,” Ema said and Lexa nodded her head, resolving herself to do just that.

“ **I will do that. So now that we have potentially solved my problems, why don’t you tell me what your fight with Kira was all about?** ” Lexa said to her friends who groaned in response and proceeded to tell her everything. She didn’t have a good relationship with all the other 13 past Commanders but Lexa was good that at least she had a true friend in Ema, someone she could always count on to be honest and help her with whatever she may need. The two of them spent some time just talking and catching each other up on what was going on. Lexa was happy that she decided to come here. Maybe when she returned, things could be fixed between Clarke and her. She had to at least try.


	26. Screwing Up

Time was spent differently in the Citadel than it did in the real world and Lexa always made sure that she would know how much time to spent there as to not lose too much time in what you would call the normal world, but given that there was no pressing matter that she needed to deal with regarding her people, she spent some more time in the Citadel than she usually did. To her, it seemed like a few minutes, almost as if she had just arrived but when it finally came time to return and she opened her eyes, Lexa looked around and realized that it was already nighttime and her tent was with the usual candles lit.

She wasn’t one to usually spend so much time in the Citadel even because she wasn’t fond of all the Commanders. She despised some of them, especially the one who came before her and so she tried to avoid those Commanders at all costs, which sometimes meant making her visits even shorter than they were already supposed to be and when she wanted to stay there for a longer period of time like she did today, she would steer clear of their path as best as she could and Ema would always help her with it, not being able to stand them herself.

Even Kira helped them sometimes. She was a better diplomat than Ema was though Lexa judged Ema to be the better leader between the two sisters but in the matter at hand, Kira was a better choice because she was mostly a pacifist and a person with high tolerance for stupidity so she was the only one among the three of them that could deal with those arrogant and stupid Commanders, even if all they thought about her was that she was a weak Commander and a disgrace to the blood for having died so quickly after her ascension however she let the insults go and would drive them away from her sister and Lexa.

There had been times in which Lexa and Ema had fought with them, physically or whatever you could call it. They had exchange punches and kicks around, especially after Costia died and they made fun of her for her weakness. Lexa would lose her head and fight with them and Ema would always join in to be on her side and fight with them too so Kira, knowing that, started to pull them away whenever they would come close to avoid such things happening and Lexa was thankful for that. If she wanted to have trouble, she would stay in the real world where there was more than enough for her to deal with already.

Lexa sighed as she stretched her body from being in the same position without moving for hours on end. She was feeling a lot better after talking with Ema and now she felt that she could understand Clarke better and that they could have a good conversation to make up for the fight they had earlier on. But as she thought about it, she realized that Clarke was not here, at least not with her in the bed so Lexa put on her boots, grabbed her coat and walked out of her private quarters and looked at the rest of the tent but Clarke wasn’t there either.

Lexa was beginning to worry. From what she could see from the candles, it was late in the night and she couldn’t help but wonder. Why wasn’t Clarke there with her in their tent as usual? Then, Lexa thought that perhaps the blonde was with her friends talking to them in their tent and without thinking too much, Lexa walked out of her own tent and in the direction of theirs, hearing the guards following her however this time, she didn’t send them away, there was no need to and she may need them.

“Can I come in?” Lexa called out from outside their tent, she could and had the right to just barge in but she chose to be respectful and to ask permission first.

“Of course, Lexa. Come on in,” Lexa heard Raven’s voice say and she lifted the flap and walked inside taking a look around and noticing the lack of blonde hair around. The only one that were there was Raven and Murphy who was already in his bed and Raven who was working on something by the table. Lexa’s heart picked on the speed fueled by her worry.

“Where is Clarke? I thought she would be here with you,” Lexa said to them and Murphy sat up on his bed and shared a look with Raven, seeing that there was something wrong.

“We haven’t seen Clarke since she went inside your tent after you once the fight was done and came out looking pissed off,” Raven said to her before looking at Murphy who confirmed it.

“Yeah, we both thought she had been with you this whole time, you know, making up,” He said and now Lexa was truly worried about her girlfriend and shook her head.

“No, we had a fight and she walked out of the tent and I didn’t see her again. I thought she was with you inside the Mountain so I came here and went to meditate. When I woke up, I realized it was late and she had not returned,” Lexa said to them worriedly, “I will gather a search team to look for her,” Lexa said to them and was about to leave when raven stopped her.

“No, wait a second before you do that,” Raven said and Lexa stopped and looked back at the mechanic not understanding why she would ask Lexa to do such a thing when something could be seriously wrong with Clarke. She could be in danger or she could have been taken.

“I cannot wait Raven. If Clarke is in danger, we need to find her as soon as possible.” Lexa said irritated but raven shook her head.

“I know you are worried so are we but just listen to me first,” Raven said to her and Lexa looked between them before giving her a nod to continue, “Before the fight, Clarke had talked to her dad to take her friends back to Arkadia and they were set to leave right after the fight,” Raven said to her and Lexa looked at her.

“Yeah, I remember I saw them getting ready before you came out of your tent and proceeded to murder those idiots,” Murphy said agreeing with Raven, seeing where she was going.

“What does that have to do with Clarke’s disappearance?” Lexa asked them, not quite getting what that had to do with Clarke’s safety.

“What Raven is trying to say is that maybe Clarke went with them back to Arkadia and is still there, right Raven?” Murphy said looking at the mechanic and the girl nodded her head.

“Yeah, they were going to get donators for the bone marrow transfusion. Maybe she thought it would be good to go there in order to cool down,” Raven suggested and Lexa admitted that there was merit in their idea.

“But why hasn’t she returned yet? It is very late. She should have been back by now,” Lexa asked them and Raven and Murphy both shrugged.

“Maybe she lost track of time or simply thought it would be better or safer to come back tomorrow. If she is there, then she is definitely safe and there is no reason to worry,” Murphy said and Lexa shook her head.

“There was a guard with her and she knew about it. He could protect her until she was back here. It’s his job. There was no particular need for her to stay there, without warning me about it at least.” Lexa said with worry in her voice and they stood in silence before she spoke up again, “Is there any way you can check if she really is there? Just in case. To make sure that she really is safe and is in no danger or missing.” Lexa asked them and Raven nodded her head.

“Yeah, I gave Jake a radio with a line directly to mine. Let me see if I can get in touch with him,” Raven said grabbing one of the radios, turning it on. “Jake, it’s Raven. Do you hear me? Over,” Raven said and waited for the response but there was nothing so she tried again. “Jake, it’s Raven. Answer me. Over,” She said and once again there was nothing but the third time she tried, there was a response.

“Raven?” A young voice said and Raven answered it.

“Charlotte? Is that you?” She asked as the other two watched and listened to it.

“Yeah, it’s me. Dad is sleeping. What is it? Is something wrong?” Charlotte asked her.

“No, nothing is wrong. We just wanted to know something. Is Clarke there? In Arkadia?” Raven asked and Lexa waited on baited breath for the answer.

“Yes, she is. She came with dad and the others earlier today. Why?” They heard and Lexa let out a deep breath that she was holding in. Clarke was safe, nothing bad had happened to her. She was okay that was all that mattered.

“We didn’t know where she was and got worried for her safety. Nothing bad happened to her, has it? She is okay, right?” Raven asked the girl as Lexa listened to their talk.

“Okay wouldn’t be the word I would use to describe Clarke right now,” Charlotte said and Lexa felt her worry return ten-fold.

“What is wrong with her?” She found herself speaking up.

“Who is that?” Charlotte asked not recognizing the voice.

“That is the Commander. She is here with us, she was worried about Clarke too,” Raven explained to the young girl.

“Oh hi, Commander. Nice to talk to you,” Charlotte said and both Raven and Murphy smiled as the mechanic stood up.

“This is the button to speak. You keep it pressed it and when you’re done, you let go,” Raven said giving the radio to the older girl.

“Okay,” Lexa said grabbing it as raven joined Murphy on the bed, both sitting down and watching the Commander talk to their young friend. “Nice to talk to you too, Charlotte. Clarke has told me a lot about you,” Lexa said and did what Raven said and it worked.

“That’s awesome.” Charlotte said to her, happy that someone so important like the Commander would take time to learn about her.

“Why did you say that Clarke was not okay?” Lexa asked her and Charlotte chuckled.

“Well, you see, the others got a hold of alcohol from the Mountain and they made a little party and they were drinking a lot,” Charlotte explained.

“Jackasses, they didn’t even wait for us.” Murphy said and Raven elbowed him in the ribs and made him shush.

“Charlotte, if it wouldn’t be too much trouble, could you go check on Clarke for me? I just need to hear her voice to be sure she is alive and well even if she is drunk,” Lexa asked the girl.

“Sure, I’ll take the radio in case she wants to talk to you,” Charlotte said agreeing readily to do it. She would also like to go check on her sister, maybe she could be needing someone to take care of her hangover.

“That would be very kind of you,” Lexa said and waited as the girl continued pressing the button and they could hear everything.

“You know Clarke told me about you too. I really wish we could have met already. You seem like a really nice person based on what she told me,” Charlotte said to her and Lexa smiled.

“So do I. You sound like a very smart girl and I can assure you that Clarke is very proud of you,” Lexa said and she was sure the girl was smiling.

“Thanks,” They continued talking until Charlotte came to Clarke’s quarters. “I’m here. Let me open the door,” Charlotte said and Lexa waited and heard as the girl entered and closed the door behind her but they also started hearing some noises and laughter and Lexa immediately recognized one of those voices as Clarke’s. Raven and Murphy didn’t know what to do.

“Clarke?” The girl called for her sister but nothing. “I think she is in the bedroom.” Charlotte said in the radio and walked closer to the bedroom and the voices got louder.

“Oh my God. Bellamy, stop,” They all heard Clarke’s voice and the words perfectly. Lexa’s stomach dropped. No, there is no way that Clarke would do something like this to her. Not after everything they went through. This had to be a mistake.

“You’re the one who told me to take it off. Careful, that’s my shirt you tossing around,” They heard him say.

“You don’t need it. You’re hot,” Clarke replied and they laughed some more.

“Come to bed, will you?” They heard Clarke say.

“Someone is eager to get me in her sheets.” Bellamy said.

“Think you can handle me in bed, Blake? Let’s see you try,” Clarke said and to Lexa, that was more than enough, she sighed.

“Charlotte, you should go back to bed. I heard all that I needed to. Thank you for helping me with the task,” Lexa said in the radio. Raven and Murphy looked at each other and they were in shock. What the hell as Clarke doing? When they heard Lexa’s voice, they heard the strain in it and they both felt for her.

“I’m sure nothing is going on between them. If you want to talk to her, I can just go in,” Charlotte said trying to help the situation of her sister with the Commander. She suspected there was something more happening between them so she was really confused now.

“No, you get out of there and go back to your room and go to sleep. You hear me? Do not open the door,” Lexa said to her firmly and the girl nodded, turning around and leaving the room closing the door after her and started walking back to her room. Something in Lexa’s voice made her do what the girl was telling her to.

“I’m sorry.” She said in the radio once she was back inside her the quarters she shared with her parents since Clarke had her own.

“You have nothing to be sorry for, Charlotte. I was worried for Clarke’s safety but she is perfectly fine so now I’m not worried anymore,” Lexa said trying to pretend for her. “I’m the one who is sorry for waking you in the middle of the night as asking you to go there. I hope you can continue to have a good night despite my interruption,” Lexa said and the girl smiled sadly even if the commander could not see it.

“No problem. You too. Have a good night, I mean,” Charlotte said to her and Lexa sighed but tried not to let her feelings show on her voice.

“I will, thank you. Nice talking to you, Charlotte. Goodbye,” Lexa said tightly.

“Nice talking to you too, Commander. Goodbye,” She said while Lexa turned around and offered the device back to Raven who stood up.

“It’s not what you think,” Raven said trying to defend her friend. She had no idea what could be going through Clarke’s head at this second but surely even drunk, she wouldn’t do something like this to Lexa, or would she?

“He was in her bedroom, shirtless and she invited him to her bed and to make love to her. Was that not what we heard?” Lexa asked her and Raven didn’t really have anything to say to that. The words were really clear.

“It’s Clarke, we are talking about. She wouldn’t do this to you or with Bellamy. She didn’t do anything with Finn even when you were not together. There has to be a good explanation for what we heard,” Murphy said standing up and looking at Lexa who looked back at him.

“Maybe there is but right now, I wouldn’t care to listen,” Lexa said tightly, clenching her jaw, “I should go back to my tent and sleep, tomorrow I have a very busy day. Thank you for your help and you are very loyal friends. Clarke is lucky to have you both,” Lexa said turning around and leaving the tent as Raven took a few steps after her before she turned around and looked at Murphy.

“What the hell did Clarke do, John?” Raven asked and the fact she used his first name meant that it was serious and it really was.

“I have no idea, Raven. No fucking idea,” He said and they were just shocked by what happened as Lexa but both still hoping that there was another explanation for what they heard but they agreed on one thing.

‘You screwed up, Griffin.’


	27. What Happened

In Arkadia, hours before anything happened, Clarke was with her friends and they were drinking and joking around. There were around 10 of them, they were all together and having the greatest time. This was one of the things that she had wished they could have done the first time around, spent some time as just teenagers enjoying the new world they were a part of, without a second care for anything serious and she was glad they were getting the chance to do that now. “Oh my God. You’re disgusting,” Clarke laughing at a joke Del made and the others nodded laughing around as well.

“Hey but seriously, I was a first witness to Jasper trying to flirt with Maya and he was a disaster. Worse than Miller around Monty,” Harper said, and everyone laughed teasing the guy who despite his darker skin was visibly blushing.

“I did not flirt with Monty, you did. You were all hugs and kisses with him. You think I didn’t see it? I saw it, Ms. Obvious,” Nathan said pointing back at the girl.

“Ooh. Jealousy. Would you look at that?” Monroe said and they all laughed at the debate going on between Miller and Harper about who was the biggest Monty flirt of them two.

“Monty and I are just friends. And if you would like to know most of our conversation when we weren’t fearing for our lives was about his crush on you.” Harper said drinking.

“He has a crush on me?” Nathan asked her and she nodded.

“No, I’m not flirting with Monty. Nope, no way. Not at all. Me? What? You’re crazy,” Bellamy said mimicking Nathan’s voice as everyone crackled in laugh at that.

“Stop, you asshole. I hate you,” The guy said throwing a piece of wood on the guy who only laughed harder. “What about you? You gave Atom a hell of a speech and a punishment when you caught him kissing your sister. What about Lincoln? Did you give him one?” Nathan asked.

“For him to end up on the receiving end of Lincoln’s strength and skills? The guy is stupid, but he is not suicidal. At least I don’t think so. You never know,” Finn said having joined in the fun.

“Very funny, Spacewalker. Very funny. No, Lincoln and I talked and sorted out our problems. He loves her and will protect her so we’re good,” Bellamy said to them.

“Look at him being all grown up,” Clarke said teasing him too and he shrugged at her.

“I had to, right? I mean, can’t keep being childish in this place or else I wouldn’t last two seconds,” He said and she nodded at him knowing he was right.

“You’re 23, being the oldest which means you’re the dad here,” Monroe said motioning to the group, and they laughed at that.

“More like irresponsible and over protective big brother. Oh wait, you are that,” Clarke said joking and he chuckled at her.

“I have no wish to be father of anyone so soon. I am still too young for that,” Bellamy said to his friends and Nathan went for the mercy blow.

“Hey, Octavia doesn’t have the chip, does she? How about being an uncle? You dig that one?” Nathan said and Bellamy frowned and then looked scared.

“Clarke, is that…” He asked her and she smiled at him.

“Possible? Very much so. Octavia can get pregnant tonight. Many times over,” She said teasing him and he out his elbows on the table and his head on his hands.

“No, no, no. That is not happening. Not a chance,” He said to himself but everyone heard it and started making fun of him for it.

“Can you imagine a little grounder running around. ‘Uncle Bell, Uncle Bell, did you see my sword? Mommy said I could start training,’” Finn said in a kid’s voice and Bellamy growled.

“I hate the lot of you for making me think of that.” He said as he poured three cups of drink and downed them in one shot. 

“Slow down, cowboy.” Del said to him and he still sighed. They continued on the teasing and the drinking, the joking around and Clarke was happy. She looked around at them, these people that she hadn’t known for even half a year and who were now people she considered friends, people she would do almost anything to protect, to keep them safe. People she would kill and die for. That she has done all the above, one way or another.

She couldn’t help but wonder. How long did it take before they felt good enough to do something like this after Mount Weather last time around? Did they ever do this? Or did they just lived one day after the other, enjoying whatever happy moment they had but always worried about the next? She didn’t know, but she hoped this time around that she could help them avoid those worries in the long run and have a decent and prosperous life down here. They deserved it after everything they have been through and she did too.

She wanted them to be different than what she remembered from when she returned here after the three months she spent away. She wanted Bellamy to never think about massacring three hundred innocent or let and help a madman get it power and almost destroy all of them because he was hurt by losing someone he cared about. She wanted Miller not to have to work as a spy to defeat a terrible leader and lose his boyfriend because of it. She wanted Harper not to suffer to a breaking point for the things she had done and that she regretted it so much.

She wanted Monty to be happy and in peace and have his best friend with him always. She wanted Jasper to never break beyond recognition and for him to never lose Maya and have a real chance at a relationship with her. She wanted Finn to be able to find himself apart from what he felt from her, for him to find his place in here. She wanted for Kane and Callie to have a family and to be incredibly happy. She wanted her parents to see the beauty of the Earth and live in it. She wanted Charlotte to grow up and be the amazing person she was meant to be.

She wanted Octavia and Lincoln to always have one another and to find a place to settle down. She wanted Wells and Jessica to grow stronger and to help run this place when it came the time for it. She wants for Murphy to find Emori and be with his girlfriend and his real friends, his family, always. She wants for Raven to find her happiness with Luna and for her to not suffer so much again as she did last time. She wants Anya, Indra, Gustus, Aden and the other nightbloods to always be there for the Commander.

And most of all, she wants Lexa to be happy and to have the chance to create all the changes she dreamed for her people and for her to live a long life so that she can see the future she is making for them. And last but not least, for herself, what Clarke wanted was very simple. Perhaps the simplest out of all the others and at the same time the most difficult one too. She wanted Lexa. Period. She wanted to always be the cause of the brunette’s happiness. She always wanted to be a reason why the woman would smile or laugh.

She wants for them to have the life together they are meant to have. She wants to be there for the good and the bad days, she wants to be with the girl for the rest of her life that she will try and make as long as possible. She wants for them to have a family and to have the happiness they deserve, the happiness they could only ever have with each other. She wants to wake up and see Lexa by her side, she wants to go to sleep in her arms every night. Clarke wants Lexa and everything that comes with that. Whatever obstacles, they will win. Together.

The group spent a few more hours and drinking until they were kicked out of the small bar that had been built but by then, they were all already too drunk to do anything about it so they just left going back to the station and their own dorms. Bellamy was really wasted so Clarke offered to help him get to his room and they all ended being separated. Finn was the most wasted, having passed out and being carried by Del and Nathan, Harper was clinging to Monroe and so on. “I don’t have quarters,” Bellamy said to her and she nodded.

“You can crash with me tonight, but you better not snore, or I will kick your ass out of my room,” She said to him and he smiled at her and nodded.

“Hey, we will go this way. See you guys tomorrow,” Clarke said to their friends and they nodded as they all broke until small groups.

Clarke walked with Bellamy towards her quarters and opened the door as she pushed him inside. She turned around to look down the hall to check if they woke up anyone but there was nothing, so she closed the door, locking it. She turned around searching for Bellamy, but he didn’t seem to be nowhere in sight until she looked at her bedroom door and saw it opened and she sighed walking towards it and entering her room finding him, sprawled out on her bed, starfish position. “Really?” She said to him, incredulous and he looked up at her.

“You’re a very good friend and I’m hot, you know that?” He said to her. She chuckled and shook her head at him. She leaned against the wall and removed her boots as well as her jacket before she walked to her bed and lay down.

“You can sleep here and in my bed, if you get your boots off. I am not going to have mud on my bed, Bellamy Blake so get your drunken ass up,” She said and started pushing him until he groaned sitting up as she lay down on her bed and watched as he tried to remove the boots, growing irritated for not having the balance and while she laughed at him, she briefly heard someone’s voice and even her name being called but with Bellamy’s groan and her level of intoxication, she wasn’t sure she wasn’t hallucinating. She watched him and laughed.

“Oh my God, Bellamy. Stop,” She said as he almost fell down trying to get his boots off. Bellamy then stood straight and removed his jacket throwing away and did the same with his shirt, throwing it her way, hitting her in the face. She made a ball with it, threw on the air and tried to kick it away with her feet.

“You’re the one who told me to take it off. Careful, that’s my shirt you’re tossing around,” He said to her as he made another attempt.

“You don’t need it. You’re hot,” She said to him and they smiled laughing some more. She finally tossed the shirt aside.

“Come to bed, will you?” She said tired and wanting to go to sleep. She already knew she would have a massive hangover in the morning, she could at least try to get some sleep in before facing the new day and the pain she would feel once she woke up.

“Someone is eager to get me in her bed sheets,” Bellamy joked around smiling at her and she raised herself on her elbows.

“Think you can handle me in bed, Blake? Let’s see you try,” She said to him smirking and he looked at her and the bed and took impulse before he threw himself on top of her as they started laughing around. Somewhere in her mind she could swear she was hearing voices apart from theirs, but she wasn’t sure about it, so she just focused on her friend. When they stopped laughing, Clarke swore that she heard a door close.

“I think I heard something,” Clarke said lowly to him, but he didn’t seem to be hearing what she was saying anymore.

“Not uncle. Celibate,” Was his only response as she pushed him away from her, laughing at his words and decided to go check out what made the sound she was sure she heard. Clarke opened the door to her bedroom and looked around but there was no one there so she walked over to the door of her quarters and opened it, stepping outside and looking around the hall. There was no one else there but her.

“I’m officially going crazy,” She said to herself before she went back inside and closed the door. She sighed and yawned as she went to her bedroom, opening the door and looking at the bed only to see that Bellamy was deep asleep already and hogging all the pillows. She smiled at him and walked outside for a few minutes before she came inside the room towards the bed and out a glass and two pills on her bedside table. Painkillers for the morning and pulled the covers up to his shoulders, kissed his head and smiled down at him.

“Good night, Bell,” She said to him. She walked out of the room, grabbing her jacket and his along the way and closed the door behind her. She had a small couch and she went to lay down on it, using their jackets as pillows and once she was finally remotely comfortable on the couch, she crossed her arms over her chest and thought about Lexa. She hoped the girl was not worried though she knew Lexa would be. She wondered if it wasn’t the case to try and talk to her. Clarke even thought about it getting the radio to get Raven to tell Lexa she was okay but the tiredness was finally taking control over her body, her eyes were closing and she was asleep in less than a second later and thought of Lexa were reserved for her dreams.


	28. What did I do?

The next moment Clarke opened her eyes after that last line of thoughts going on inside her head, all she could see or feel or hear or care about was the raging pounding that was going on inside her head and that she brought upon herself after drinking so much the night before. She knew it was morning already and she knew she had to wake up so she rubbed her eyes trying to get rid of the remaining sleepiness she had and clutched her head as she tried to massage the sides of her face to see if it would help and it did minimally but it was something already.

She stood up  from the couch at once and the dizziness and nausea hit her with all the strength they had and she couldn’t help but run to the bathroom and throw up a few times which helped her stomach but did not help her head, in fact, it only made it ten times worse and the pounding doubled the intensity and would just not stop. Once she was sure she would not throw up anymore, Clarke cleaned herself and the bathroom and after washing her mouth, she walked out and grabbed a glass of water and the painkillers and took two of them.

She went back to the couch and fully realized that it was already morning of the next day and she worried about what Lexa would think about where she had spent the night or if she was safe but if Lexa hadn’t come here looking for her was because she knew Clarke was safe and not in any danger except from too much drinking. She sighed relieved. She had not planned to stay here for so long, but time ended up passing by when she was having fun and she didn’t even notice. She hoped Lexa wouldn’t be too angry with her for this on top of their fight.

She grabbed her necklace and looked at it. Even now that they were together, Clarke still kept it with her for times like this when they were apart so that Clarke could have her girlfriend close to her heart and her mind. She clutched it and kissed it before she heard some noise coming from the bedroom and judging by the grunts of pain she was hearing, Bellamy was waking up as well and she smiled and waited for it and he didn’t disappoint. She saw the door open and saw him run to the bathroom followed by the gag sounds he was making.

She just kept drinking water to help with the hangover. She didn’t think she would be drinking so much anytime soon if ever. The having fun and enjoying herself, she enjoyed but this one? She hated this part of it all, the having to be sick for almost an entire day. She was brought back from her thoughts by Bellamy coming out of the bathroom and she noticed that he was only in his underwear and she chuckled at the sight. “You know, you look horrible. Actually, I think miserable would be more accurate,” She said to him and he clutched his head.

“Don’t scream. My head is going to explode right now,” He said, and she smiled at him, happy that she hadn’t drunk as much as he or Finn did or else, she would have been way worse.

“There are two painkillers and water by the side of the bed. Take it and put some clothes on. Nobody wants to see that,” Clarke said to him and he smiled at her.

“I’ll have you know that many, many people want to see this, just not you,” He said to her and she chuckled at his antics and the ease friendship they were developing again.

“That is right, Blake. So do me a favor and put your pants back and a shirt too,” She said to him and he nodded walking back to the room. A few minutes later he came out already with his pants and boots on and was putting on his shirt back.

“I feel like shit.” He said as he sat down beside her and grabbed his jacket and clutched it closer to his body and she smiled nodding her head at him.

“Welcome to the club.” She said to him and motioning for the water and the cup there and he poured some for himself before he pushed his hair out of his face and turned to look at her.

“Thanks for letting me have the bed and sorry for taking your bed,” He said to her and she smiled and slowly shook her head.

“You’re welcome and what are friends for if not helping their horribly drunk best mates?” She told him and he nodded at her, “But if it makes you feel any better, as it does to me, Finn is even worse. He flat passed out, Nathan and Del had to carry him, he was dead unconscious,” Clarke said and he smiled along with her.

“Is it bad that it does make me feel better that he is with a worse hangover than me?” He asked her and she shook her head.

“I don’t think so but if it does, I will take this sin with me to hell, so you are not alone,” She said and they laughed lightly, their heads still pounding but getting better by the minute.

“We need to get out and face the sun and the world full of noise,” He said to her and she nodded at him.

“I will take a bath first but don’t worry about that. We faced worst odds than that, haven’t we?” She said to him and he smiled at her nodding

“Damn right, we did. We can do this. Let’s go,” He said to her and stood up turning to her, “You’re going back to the Mountain?” He asked her, and she nodded.

“Yep, then after everything it’s settled, I will go to the camp. I need to talk to Lexa about our fight. I don’t want to leave things the way they are now between us. Hopefully, today, we will both be able to understand each other better,” Clarke explained to him and he nodded.

“Well, then I see in half an hour by the gates,” He said, and she nodded.

“Okay. Good luck,” She said motioning to the door, and he nodded.

“Thanks,” He said and walked past her and opened the door both being hit with the noises coming from everywhere, “Jesus Christ,” He said before walking outside and closing the door behind him.

Clarke smiled and stood up herself. She walked to the door and locked it before she started removing her clothes and walked towards her bathroom and took a sponge bath to get the stink of alcohol and vomit out of her body and in 15 minutes, she was finished and wrapped herself in a towel and walked to her room and grabbed a new set of clothes. It was a black pair of pants, a dark blue short sleeved shirt. She was getting dressed when there was a knock on the door. She walked towards it in only her underwear.

“Who is it?” She asked.

“Charlie.” The voice said and Clarke smiled before opening the door careful not to be seen by anyone who was outside. The girl got inside the room and Clarke closed the door behind her with a smile on her face.

“Hey, Charlie, I was not expecting to see you here so soon. Don’t talk too loud, I still have an annoying headache,” Clarke said as she kissed her little sister’s head and walked back inside her room.

“Clarke, can I ask you a question and you promise to tell me the truth? The absolute truth, no matter what it is,” Charlotte followed her inside the room. Clarke was putting on her pants and nodded though she noticed the tone of voice Charlie was using.

“Sure. Ask me anything,” Clarke said as she buttoned her pants.

“Is there something going on romantically between you and the Commander?” Charlotte asked and Clarke stopped and looked at her in surprise.

“Why are you asking me that?” Clarke asked her but Charlotte shook her head.

“It doesn’t matter. Just answer me. Are you two together?” The young girl asked her, and Clarke had promised so she nodded.

“Yeah, we are. But don’t tell Mom and dad, I want to introduce her to them,” Clarke said smiling but Charlotte only frowned.

“How could you do this to her then?” Charlotte said to her and by the tone of her voice, Clarke’s smile faded.

“Charlotte, I don’t know what you are talking about.” Clarke said truly confused by what her sister was talking about and Charlotte shook her head.

“How could you cheat on her with Bellamy?” Charlotte said disapprovingly and Clarke shook her head, shocked and utterly confused.

“Charlie, I didn’t do that. I would never do something like that. What the hell are you even talking about?” Clarke said frowning and Charlotte just stared at her searching for something. Something that she seemed to not have found because her expression softened.

“You remember everything that happened last night? Everything?” Charlotte asked her, hoping that she would be right on what she is thinking, and Clarke chuckled nodding her head.

“Yep, unfortunately. There were some things I wished I had forgotten though. Some information that have scarred me for life but other than that, I do remember everything. Believe it or not, I was one of the most sober members in that group. Can you believe that Finn passed out? Bellamy did too. He took the bed and I had to sleep on the couch. But why are you asking me if I cheated on Lexa with Bellamy?” Clarke asked her and Charlotte’s face took a sorry expression for her sister.

“Because I think you are in big, big, enormous trouble, Clarke,” Charlotte said to her and Clarke crossed her arms still in only just her pants and bra.

“What do you mean?” Clarke asked her and the girl seemed to think if she should say anything about what happened last night, “Charlotte, you’re scaring me. Whatever it is, you can tell me,” Clarke said taking a more approachable stance not to frighten her sister who nodded.

“Well, last night, I went to sleep early since I would have to wake up early today and dad did too,” Charlotte started and Clarke nodded, she knew that already. “Well, in the middle of the night I woke up to go drink some water when I heard the radio you said Raven gave Dad and someone was calling for him. I recognized Raven’s voice so I picked up worried that something bad had happened to her but when I spoke to her, she was asking me about you, if you were here,” Charlotte said and Clarke sighed, she had imagined that.

“I didn’t tell anyone where I was coming so I imagined she would call,” Clarke said to the young girl and she knew that Raven would have told Lexa about her whereabouts.

“Well, this is where it gets complicated and I don’t know if I have the guts to say this twice so let me say it all at once without interruptions, okay?” Charlotte said getting nervous and Clarke frowned but nodded.

“Okay, go ahead.” She said and the younger girl took a deep breath before she started.

“So, it turns out that the one who really wanted to know where you were was the Commander. I talked to her and she sounded really nice and really concerned for your safety but anyway, I told her you were with your friends drinking and she asked me to go check on you just to be sure that you were perfectly okay even if you were drunk, her words,”

“So I told her I would bring the radio in case you wanted to talk to her and we talked all the way here and since I knew the password, I entered your room and well, to resume the story, she heard you and Bellamy, what you said about his shirt, him being hot, about him coming to join you in bed and when I told her I would call for you, she told me there was no need and that I needed to leave and go back to my room. So I’m pretty sure she thinks you cheated on her with Bellamy. There I said it,” Charlotte said and looked at Clarke who was pale.

“Charlie, tell me that is not true,” Clarke asked her with a quivering voice. This couldn’t be happening. This must be a nightmare. Clarke knew that deep down despite the fact that Finn is alive and apparently in love with her again, that Lexa has always been truly jealous of her relationship with Bellamy and the connection and friendship they have here and the one they had in the past. For her to think that Clarke had slept with him, that was not happening.

“I’m sorry but it is true, Clarke,” Charlotte said apologetically. Clarke turned away from her and started putting on her clothes as fast as he could.

“I need to go and talk to her. I need to explain,” Clarke said as she put on her shirt and put on her boots, “What time is it, Charlie?” She asked the girl.

“It’s almost midday. Dad already left hours ago with the volunteers,” The younger girl and Clarke sighed, that meant Lexa would be in the Mountain working.

“Okay, if anyone asks for me, I went to the Mountain and I don’t know if I will be back today or even tomorrow, okay?” Clarke told the girl who nodded at her.

“Okay, I’ll tell them,” Charlotte said to her sister and Clarke kissed the top of her head before she grabbed her jacket and run out of the room leaving Charlotte behind. Clarke ran through the station, bumping into people but not giving a damn about it. All she cared about was to get to Lexa and explains everything to her girlfriend and make sure that she knows that Clarke would never do such a thing, that she didn’t want anyone except for her. She needed to make this the fight they had before right. She had to.

She ran through outside the station and crossed camp until she came to the gates. “Open it,” She ordered the guards and they did just that, she walked a few steps aside and raised her arms swinging them from side to side, calling the guard that was there to come to her.

“Clarke, hey. You ready to go?” Bellamy said joining her and she shook her head.

“I can’t, something bad happened and I need to fix it.” She said to him as she saw the grounder coming through the woods on a horse.

“What happened? Can I help?” Bellamy asked her. She shook her head.

“Lexa called Charlotte last night through the radio and she took it to my room and Lexa heard us joking in my room and now she thinks I’m cheating on her with you. I need to explain everything alone. You would probably only make it worse,” Clarke said to him and he had a shocked expression on his face.

“Skai Prisa,” The grounder called for her and she turned to him.

“I need your horse immediately,” Clarke said to the man and he nodded, getting down from it and helping her get up.

“I will be in the Mountain. Go there,” She said to him and he nodded.

“Sha Prisa,” He said. She simply turned the horse around and started galloping away from there as fast as she could, entering the woods, right now, she didn’t care about anything, she just couldn’t lose Lexa, not to anything much less a misunderstanding like this. And as she walked through the woods, she only hoped that it wouldn’t be too late and that she could still fix it. She needed to believe she could. She didn’t come so far to have a second chance with her just too lose Lexa to her own stupidity. She had to fix it. She had to fix. She had to.


	29. Good to be Home

After waking up, Lexa was immediately hit with everything that happened the day before and especially what happened at night. She couldn’t go there, not this early in the morning or her day would be ruined and today was really important for her people, so she decided to do what she does best. Compartmentalize her emotions and push it far away inside her mind until she was ready to revisit the topic. So once that was out of the way, she went about her morning routine, getting ready as her Trikru warriors started breaking their section of the camp.

She had Ryder warn everyone that she wanted things done as fast as possible. She wanted to be in TonDC before midday. She had breakfast before she left her tent so her warriors could get it down and once everything was ready, Lexa walked over to her horse and got up on it before she started on her way to the village with her selected group of warriors following her, Gustus and Anya on her side, a little behind. Both of them already so used to tuning in with whatever mood she was in that they both knew to stay quiet and let her deal with whatever was bothering her on her own until she asked them for help.

During the whole trip to TonDC, Lexa decided to let herself think over the topic and once the floodgates were opened, she could do nothing but to think about Clarke and everything she heard in the radio the night before. A huge part of her kept reminding her of all the promises Clarke made her and all the times the blonde expressed verbally or not how much she loves Lexa, how glad she is that they are back together, how happy she is that they are not wasting time anymore, that they are finally together, of how much she wants a life with her, to have children, to spend the rest of her life with Lexa.

That part reminded her of every kiss, every touch, every whisper of love, reminded her that Clarke wouldn’t be the kind of person who would do something like that. Reminded her of how much Clarke hated what Finn did to Raven with her and that she would never do the same to Lexa just because they had their first real fight, that Clarke loved her more than that and that she wouldn’t betray Lexa like this. The part that Clarke was the one willing her to fight the bullet on her stomach to stay alive for her. The part of her that believed in Clarke’s love.

But there was another part of her that had appeared since the attempted feast at TonDC when Bellamy knocked the supposedly poisoned cup from Clarke’s hand and stood in front of her to protect her from Lexa and her warriors. The part that noticed how much Clarke depended on him, that believed in him to come through from inside the Mountain. The part of her that reminded her of how much Clarke worried about him when he was inside that place, worried that he would get hurt more so than she did with all the others.

The part that reminded her of what Roan said to her of how Clarke had been rebellious to come with him and how she acted when Bellamy appeared and how she begged with him not to hurt Bellamy, even promising to go willingly with him even to what she believed would be her own death. That reminded her of Clarke begging her to spare his life even despite the atrocity he committed to her people for no good reason except that he wanted to. That part of her that always seemed to think that there was something different between them.

Clarke had been in love so to speak with Finn when they had met and not soon after that she had to kill him herself and Lexa now knew that he had been her first sexual experience in the other life and that if Raven had not been in the picture, they would have been together but Clarke didn’t need Finn, not in the way she had needed Bellamy until the end, not how she still needs him even now. Did she need Lexa like that too? Or was that a feeling reserved for him and only him? Lexa didn’t know and she hated herself for even having to question it.

Lexa shook her head and try to stay focused on the present and nothing else. Soon enough, the entrance of the Trikru village came to view and once they reached it, Lexa stopped her horse and so did the rest of her entourage who followed her and got down from their horses. Lexa was ready to enter when Anya approached her. “ **You okay**?” She whispered to her former second who looked at her and shook her head, not seeing the point of lying.

“ **Not particularly, but I will be** ,” Lexa said to her and the commander mask was back on and Anya understood the dismissive. Lexa walked in and was greeted the same way and even more cheering happened this time and she judged it was because they have heard of their victory in the Mountain and Lexa softens her features a little and allow a small smiled grace her face as everyone started getting on their knees in respect to her and she stopped before she turned around and spoke to them.

“ **People of TonDC** ,” She said, and they all looked up, staying on their knees, “ **Today, it will be the day in which we shall prepare ourselves for what comes tomorrow, the trial of the Mountain’s leaders, the ones responsible for so many of our people’s death** ,” Lexa said.

She motioned and the bags were removed from their heads and they were surrounded by grounders and faced with the angry cries of the people they hurt for years. Lexa raised her hand and motioned for Indra and Anya to take them to the cells and the women did just that followed by a few other guards while Ryder stood by Heda’s side. “ **Tomorrow, they will receive our justice, we will honor those we have lost. But today, I want you to enjoy your families, your wives, husbands, children with the knowledge that they will haunt us no more** ,” Lexa spoke to her people who looked at her in awe.

“ **Sha Heda** ,” They all said and she nodded before she turned around and walked away going back towards the place in which she had used both times to plan the war with Clarke. Ryder came inside along with her. “ **Commander, do you want anything?** ” He asked her as she circled around the table and nodded.

“ **I want my throne, there** ,” She said to him and pointed at the place and he nodded.

“ **It shall be done. Anything else Commander?** ” He asked her and she shook her head.

“ **You fought bravely, and you deserve to be with your family. Go be with your husband and your daughter, Ryder. Give Sayd and Rana my best** ,” Lexa said to him and he gave her a smile.

“ **Thank you, Commander. I certainly will** ,” He said before he turned around and finally left her alone. She sighed and unclasped her shoulder pad, putting it on top of the table along with her sword and she unbuckled her coat as in no time at all, warriors came through the door carrying her throne and with Ryder’s instructions put it on where she wanted it. Once they were done, they all greeted her and left but then Indra and Anya came in.

“ **Do you need us for anything else, Commander**?” Indra, who had joined them midway through their journey, asked her as she looked at them and shook her head.

“ **No, Indra. Thank you. Everything is fine, go be with your families. I will try and rest a little. Maybe I’ll meditate a little** ,” She said to them and they nodded. Indra bowed and walked away but Anya stayed, and Lexa sighed looking at her.

“ **What is it Anya? Is there a problem you need me to deal with?** ” Lexa asked her friend and the woman shook her head.

“ **No, I just wanted to say that when you are ready to talk you know you will always be welcome to my home. I trust you haven’t forgotten the way** ,” Anya said, and Lexa smiled at the memory the woman was referring to.

“ **No, I haven’t and when I’m ready, I will pay a visit. Does that work for you?** ” Lexa said to her and Anya gave her a small smile and nodded.

“ **Very well. See you in a while** ,” The general said and walked away from the room leaving Lexa alone with her thoughts. The young Commander sighed and turned around leaning against the table and facing her throne. She closed her eyes and remembered herself, young, covered in black blood walking the distance with everyone looking at her and she made the same route as she climbed the steps like she did then and slowly lowered herself into it feeling the weight of what she was.

Meanwhile in another part of the village, Anya walked through the houses and greeted the people that were still around the place talking about how amazing their Commander was and how lucky they were to have her in the throne and leading them. It pleased Anya greatly to hear those words because she, more than anyone, knew them to be true. She served as a warrior in the Trikru army for the last Commander, Lexa’s predecessor, and he was as despicable as they come and nothing like Lexa. In fact, he was her exact opposite.

He was everything Lexa was not or would ever be. He was selfish, careless, irresponsible, uncaring, bloodthirsty, cruel, mean, didn’t give a damn about their people as long as he got what he wanted. He was driving them towards the Great Wars again and he was in the brink of getting it when he had a heart attack and died. Everything went on hold for the duration of the Conclave and war was all the legacy he left for Lexa who had no choice but fight in over 50 different battles for her first year she was Commander alone.

Anya knew that it couldn’t be denied by anyone with a working brain in their heads and that she was right in saying that Lexa saved them from themselves during one of the worst periods of time in their history at great sacrifices to herself, Costia being one of the prices she had to pay for wanting better for her people, all of them and even then she didn’t falter, she went on with her plans. In her small body, Lexa had more strength than all the clans put together and Anya truly admired for that and for all the may qualities she had, not only as a leader, not only as Commander but as Lexa too.

Anya came to a stop in front of a house and opened the door to it, getting inside. She walked a few steps in and was greeted by the warmest of smile and one she had missed terribly. She got rid of her sword, of her headpiece and her coat before she moved forward to a pair of waiting arms and a tight hug, one she didn’t know she needed so much until she was enveloped in it and a familiar and wonderful scent filled in her noise. Now, in this moment, between these arms, Anya could say that she was finally home.

“ **I missed you** ,” Anya said and heard a chuckle she had missed.

“ **We haven’t been apart for more than a week** , **An** ,” She heard of a voice she had missed the sound of even more and smiled.

“ **I know but somehow I managed to miss you terribly in that amount of time** ,” She said and felt a kiss on her neck before she pulled back and looking into a beautiful pair of hazel eyes who reflected the love she knew was showing on hers.

“ **Well, I am completely entitled to agree with you. I also found myself missing you terribly** ,” Anya closed her eyes at those words.

“ **I love you, Tori** ,” Anya said. Never one for complex declarations of love but she always said exactly what was important.

“ **I love you too, Anya** ,” Tori said as Anya finally kissed her wife, sighing against her lips. It would be surprising for those who didn’t know her to see her like this, so soft but Tori has always been able to bring that side out of her and apart from Lexa, the only one she ever let see it. Tori was her wife, they had been together for the past 14 years, married for 13 of them. Tori was not Trikru, at least not by birth, she was born in Broadleaf and moved here to run away from an arranged marriage her uncle wanted to force her into.

The two of them met a little after 4 months in which Lexa had become her second and it took them about three months to get together and had been since then. Tori was there for everything that happened in her life for the past 14 years, she was there for all of the years in which she was Lexa’s mentor and Anya could not imagine her life without her wife by her side.

“ **How is she? Is she okay? We barely had time to see each other when she was here before the war was set to happen** ,” Tori said talking about Lexa who was someone important to both.

“ **Something definitely has happened since yesterday and she is very distant and sad, but I told her than when she was ready to talk, she knew where to find us** ,” Anya replied to her.

“ **Do you think she will come and talk to us?** ” Tori asked her and Anya nodded.

“ **I know she will. As soon as she feels she is ready to talk. But until that happens, we have some time for ourselves** ,” Anya said with a smirk and Tori copied it, smirking herself before they walked to their bedroom to catch up on the time they had spent apart. Anya knew how lucky she was to have Tori in her life and once again she reminded herself to always shower her wife with love so that even if she wasn’t one to say it, that she got to at least show her.


	30. Insight to Indra

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry guys that I have been gone this past week. I had the flu so i had to take care of myself but now I am all good so without further ado, here is the 30th chapter of this story. Hope yoiu enjoy it. Comment a lot.

After Indra was dismissed from the room and for the day by the Commander, who she knew was going through something but wanted to be alone to figure it out, the general walked away from the place and went in the direction of her own house, she had missed her family so much, or at least the family she had with her here in the village, never forgetting her daughter Gaia, that despite the different choices in life she made over the ones Indra had planned for her, she loved more than anything. Indra was greeted by everyone she passed by.

It had been over fifteen years since she had taken the job of chief of the village. Her predecessor had been her first. Dam kom Trikru was one of the most honorable people Indra had ever met in her life. He was the one that thought her almost everything that helped turn her into the woman she was today. Her harnesses her talent, turned her into a strong capable warrior and when the time came for him, he passed the responsibility onto her and she took it to heart to do the best she could for the people as he had done before her.

She had hoped that one day Gaia would have taken over from her, becoming chief in her place but her daughter’s desire to devote her life to their faith had taken her far away from that path and so Indra could only think of one other person that she would ever trust with this job. That person was her former second, Anya. Anya had come to her care when she was just a little child. She had lost her family to war and was already hardened, eager to learn but cautious around other people, much like she was today still.

But she had formed a bond with her first as it was usual, and Indra knew the kind of person she was and trusted her to be as good of a chief as she likes to think she has been and as good as Dam had been before them. And with Tori by her side, helping her with anything she wanted, the older general knew that the young woman would do her very proud. Thinking about Tori made Indra think about her husband, the great man who has been by her side for the past 25 years, steady, present.

Amir was from Trishanakru and they met one day when the chief of the Trishanakru’s village closest to TonDC needed their help to deal with a panther issue that was rising and since it affected their village as well, Dam had agreed to work with them. Amir was the second to one of their warriors and according to him, felt intrigued by her the moment he saw her. The same thing couldn’t be said about her. The one thing she felt for him the first moment she met him was annoyance at the little smile he had on his face directed at her.

He was persistent though. The more she seemed to hate being in his presence, the more he seemed to want to be around her. She remembered his friends making fun of him for thinking he could get close to her, saying she couldn’t be tamed, and she also remembered telling him that he didn’t mind her behavior and that she wasn’t an animal to be tamed by him or anyone else. He said he liked the thought of a woman who kept him on his toes, who made him work for a smile, a woman who challenged him to be better and do better so for that reason enough, she was perfect for him and a scowl wouldn’t be enough to drive away.

After she heard that conversation and how much he defended her against his friends, she couldn’t help but start seeing him differently, specially when he never mentioned that conversation to her at all, which led her to believe he had no idea she had ever heard it in the first place. So, whenever he tried to talk, she no longer cut him off. She wasn’t sweet to him either, that wasn’t the kind of woman she was back then, but she elaborated on her answer a little beyond the simple yes, no or a grunt, or even her favorite response, silence.

With time they spent together, Indra had more and more chance to see what kind of person he really was. And as she got to know him, the wonderful man behind the joking smile and attitude, she couldn’t help but slowly start to fall in love with him. The day they kissed for the first time, the smile wouldn’t come off of his face no matter what kind of bad news he was given. The first time they had sex, no one could contain that man’s happiness if they tried. The day she agreed to bond with him, she thought he would have a heart attack. But her fondest memory was when she told him she was pregnant with Gaia, he flat out fainted on her.

When they bonded, Indra worried about the fact that he would ask her to go to him to Trishanakru. Trikru was her place, was her home, she knew who she was in these woods to give all of that up was unthinkable to her which had left her in a bad place since she also loved him and felt at home with him. But once again proving the wonderful man he was, Amir never once even mentioned her moving from Trikru, he always spoke about how to get his things and move them to TonDC. And that right there, was the first of many signs she had over these 25 years of just how lucky she was to have found him and to have fallen in love with him.

As she had these thoughts going through her minds, reminiscing about her past, Indra passed the houses of her villages, greeting the people as she usually did every day until she came in front of her own. She took a deep breath and opened the door, stepping inside before closing it behind her. She put her stuff out in the front on top of a small table, her sword, her coat, her armor, before she walked in onto the living room and didn’t see anyone so she looked at the kitchen and there they were. Two of the three people she loves most in the world. Her husband, Amir and their youngest son, Levi.

Levi, unlike Gaia, had been a complete surprise. Amir and Indra had decided to start trying for kids when she got pregnant with their daughter and to be honest with the life she led, Indra didn’t entertain the thought of having more kids than one. Amir, once Gaia was born, decided to cut back on the warrior life, since according to him, if anything ever happened with her, he wanted Gaia to have him with her. So, it was all settled and then, years later, 9 years to be precise, she started to feel the symptoms and they found out they were expecting again.

Luckily for them, by the time he was born Lexa had already become Commander and was in her way to creating the Coalition, letting them breathe easily over the dangers their son would face. She remembered how ecstatic Gaia had been to have a little brother. They were extremely close, they were each other’s confident and to this day, sometimes Indra believed that Gaia only visited them as much as she did so she could see Levi and spend some time with him, telling him about her adventures going to all the clans and villages. Back to the present, with a small smile on her face as she watched them, she couldn’t help break the silence.

“ **Hello,** ” She said out loud and it earned their attention as both men turned their heads towards her before an identical smile appeared on both of their faces.

“ **Mom,** ” Levi said as he got up from the table and moved to hug her around the waist. She didn’t waste a second before wrapping hers around him as well.

“ **Hello, my son. I have missed you** ,” She told him as he tightened his hold on her.

“ **I was afraid that you wouldn’t come back from the Mountain** ,” Levi spoke in a small voice, which was unlike him. He was 12 now and has started to walk around as if he was a grown man so hearing him talk like this lets her know how truly scared he was.

“ **I know but I told you we would win, didn’t I? And I have never lied to you before. Why would I do it now?** ” She told him and he nodded against her before pulling back to look at her.

“ **You wouldn’t. And you were right before, we won. Now, we no longer have to be afraid of the Mountain Men or the Reapers** ,” He said to her and she nodded her head, happy for all the reasons he listed and for having come back intact for them.

“ **Now, would the young sir be so kind as to step aside so I can greet my wife?** ” Amir said jokingly to their son who simply rolled his eyes towards his Dad before walking back to his place on the table, leaving his parents alone for a bit of privacy.

Amir moved and took his wife into his arms, hugging her so tight it would be a surprise if she didn’t get any bruise from it but as she felt his lips on her neck, Indra knew it was worth it.

“ **I love you** ,” He simply spoke those three words and went silent. And she knew that whenever he didn’t talk a lot it could only be for two reasons. He didn’t like you or he was overwhelmed.

“ **I love you too and I am here. Safe as promised** ,” She spoke by his ear as he took a deeper intake of breath before letting it all out.

“ **You better not leave me Indra. I would hate you and I don’t want to hate you so naturally, you can’t leave** ,” She smiled at his words, remembering those wore the words he had said when she started to have complications during Gaia’s birth and asked him to take care of their daughter. He said she could not speak as if she was already dead and then said those exact words to her, prompting her to continue to fight to stay with her family.

“ **Of course, I already told you I wouldn’t** ,” She told him, and he loosened his hold on her a little now that he was sure she was back and unharmed.

“ **Good because I did not spend two years to make you mine, working very hard for it so you could just throw it away by getting yourself killed or hurt. Don’t make my efforts be in vain. You hear me? You make me pay dearly for that decision everyday until the end of our days** ,” He joked with her, and she couldn’t help the chuckle that came out form deep within her.

“ **Of course, I can’t keep you from forget what a mistake you made if I am dead now, can I? So don’t worry, I plan on more years where I can make you question what were you thinking?** ” She joked with him and he laughed before finally pulling back from the hug and kissing her.

They always had fire between them, a fire that came from the love they felt. They kissed for a while until there was a desperate need for air. Indra, in this moment, she was incredibly happy and she knew that she loved this man in front of her and their son who was sitting behind them as well as her daughter who could be miles away from her. They were her family and she was more than glad that she was able to help her people defeat a enemy that had always scared her, not only for herself but for those she loved.

Their reign of terror was over, freedom at last. And she knew that with Lexa in charge, no matter how some people may feel about her decisions, Indra knew they had their best chance at a peaceful life. If such a thing was even possible, the only person capable of achieving that for them was their current Commander and as she joined her family to tell them about everything that happened, she silently promised herself to help Lexa in every way she could so that her son wont have to grow up to see and do some of the things she has seen and done herself. She was fighting for his future and she would fight hard.


	31. Intervention

Clarke urged her horse to go as fast as it possibly could, tiring the poor thing. But in her head, every minute that passed was more of Lexa she was losing and she couldn’t have that. It took about a few hours but she was finally able to get back to the Mountain and as soon as she got close enough, she pulled on the horses reins and when it stopped, she got down from it, not even bothering to tie him up or anything, she just jumped down from it and ran through the make up camp they did outside of the Mountain doors and looked around as she could clearly see that the number of grounders there had gone down since yesterday.

She looked to where Lexa’s provisory tent should have been standing and it was gone. It couldn’t be. She was sure Lexa would be here and if she wasn’t, where was she? Clarke shook her head and decided that there was only one person that would know something, that would be willing to tell her and that would be Raven so Clarke didn’t think twice before she ran inside the Mountain to find her best friend. She had never run so fast in her life, jumping two to three steps of the stairs at a time before she ran through the halls until she accidentally bumped into Wells and Jessica who were walking the opposite direction.

“Clarke, hey. I was worried when I saw Jake arrive here with the volunteers and that you were not with him,” Wells said to her as he helped her regain her balance.

“Wells, have you seen Raven? I need to talk to her immediately,” Clarke asked him, completely ignoring what he had said before and he frowned.

“Clarke, is everything okay?” Wells asked her, suddenly growing worried about her the more he looked at her and at Jessica who was also worried about the look on the blonde’s face.

“No, I am not okay and I won’t be unless I talk to Raven right now. Where is she?” Clarke asked them and Wells thought better than to not answer her.

“Last time I checked, she was on medical with your parents. She was helping them with something about the computer and files. Something like that,” Wells told her as she nodded.

“Thanks Wells. I’ll talk to you later,” Clarke said to him before she ran away in the direction of the medical facility inside the Mountain and when she came close to it, she saw the volunteers that had come with them standing outside, probably waiting for their turn. She just moved past them, hurrying in between as she finally went inside the room and saw that her dad, Raven, Murphy, Kane and Callie were there as they watched Abby performed the extraction. Unlike the Mountain Men, she was doing it gently, not to damage anyone. However, it brought back some memories of watching that being done to her friends as an attack on her.

“Hey, Clarke. Come to check on the procedure as well?” Callie was the first one that noticed her and brought her back to reality and when she looked at Raven and Murphy’s face, she was filled with dread.

“No, I need to talk to you two. It’s an emergency. Please,” She said looking at her friends.

“This ought to be good,” Murphy mumbled as he and Raven walked out of the room and went into the room across it as Clarke close the door behind her, “You screwed up, big time. You know, that right?” Murphy said knowing that there was only one reason why she would be looking like this and it would be that she found out about what they heard through the radio.

“I don’t know how you know about it but, nothing happened between Bellamy and I, John,” Clarke said to them looking at both of her friends.

“It didn’t sound like nothing was happening inside that bedroom though Clarke,” Raven spoke to her, titling her head to the side. Clarke seemed surprised.

“You were there when Lexa was talking to Charlie through the radio?” She asked them surprised and they both their nodded.

“When you were asking him to come to bed, yep. Heard all the kink. I mean, I don’t believe you did anything wrong with Bellamy or anyone else for the matter with how crazy for the Commander you are. And I tried to tell Lexa there had to be another explanation for everything we heard but you put on a tight case for anyone to try to defend you, blondie. You’re lucky we believe you,” Murphy said to her and she sighed.

“I know and I am very grateful that you guys believe me, but I swear to you it was not like that at all. We were all drunk but Bellamy couldn’t keep himself standing and we started joking around. He ended up sleeping on my bed and I slept on the couch, completely dressed. I would never sleep with anyone that is not my girlfriend and I need to tell her that so please, tell me, do you know where she is? Where can I find her? Please. Is she here?” Clarke asked them and Raven leaned against the table and Murphy sat down.

They just looked at each other and Clarke looked at them, “Answer me, please. Where is my girlfriend?” She said to them, pleadingly and Raven sighed.

“She went to TonDC with Indra and Anya along with some warriors,” Raven said and Clarke turned around and was reaching for the door when the girl called for her to stop, “Clarke, wait a second,” Raven said and Clarke stopped turning back to look at her friend.

“What is it, Raven? I need to go to TonDC. I need to explain everything that happened. I can’t let her think that I would betray her like that, with Bellamy or with anyone because I wouldn’t, ever,” Clarke said impatiently, she needed to go find Lexa and fix this mess between them.

“Just before she left camp, when she was passing by us on her horse, she stopped and gave me this note to give it to you. I didn’t open it or Murphy, but I think you should read it before you make any decision to go over there,” Raven said to her friend before she pulled out a folded paper from her jacket and passed down to Clarke. The blonde took on the note and opened it as she started to read it.

‘Dear Clarke,

I know that if you are receiving this note it means you have been made aware of the fact that I heard some of things that was going _on in your room last night. I know that you were with your friends and that you were with Bellamy and that somehow the two of you ended up on your room, with him supposed shirtless making jokes about sleeping with you as well as a few sounds that could be from that exact same thing._

_I don’t want to believe that anything you said to me about your love for me was a lie. And if this second chance we are having, half of it is based on what you feel for me, then I can’t seem to think that you would ever do something like that to me, but the fact was you were drunk. Maybe you could have made a poor decision because of that, I don’t know._

_What I do know is that, despite the many times you have told me what the nature of your relationship with Bellamy is, I still find myself jealous of the connection you two have. This effortless way you two function together and I can help but feel insecure about it and last night only played on that insecurity. I don’t think anything happened between the two of you and I know your first instinct will be to seek me out._

_Don’t._

_Not yet._

_I need to be alone to day to think over a few things, as well as to think about certain aspects of our relationship I would like to discuss with you later, aspects I feel are important to be addressed before we think about moving forward. Tomorrow, your people will be coming to TonDC to oversee the deliver of the punishment to the Mountain leaders and partake on the festivities, you can join them. I ask you that you also take this day to reflect on our relationship as well. Think hard on it and I will see you tomorrow._

_With all my love,_

_Alexandria.’_

Clarke finished reading the note, before she read it again before she felt the tears start to run down her face and she folded the paper again before the tears feel on it and ruined it. Then she put it on her pocket before moving towards the table and sitting down, “She is going to leave me, isn’t she?” Clarke said in such a small, pained voice that Raven quickly moved towards her and pulling a chair next to her, took the blonde in her arms to comfort her.

“I don’t think so. She loves you so much, Clarke and she knows, deep down that you wouldn’t cheat on her, but you have to understand something Clarke. Your friendship with Bellamy may seem transparent to you and him, may seem like it is purely innocent but for anyone watching the two of you, it can be seen as quite blurry on that area,” Raven tried to explain to her as best as she could but Clarke simply looked at her friend.

“Blurry? What do you mean?” Clarke asked her, confused about the point Raven was making, not seeing what obviously the mechanic was trying to show her with her comment and Raven didn’t know how to do it so she looked at Murphy hoping he would know what to say even if in his own way and he nodded, letting her know he would take it from here.

“What Raven means with what she said is that for us outsiders, we can’t tell if you are just friends or if you are more than friends. That we don’t know if you’re just joking or flirting with each other, that we don’t know if you are just looking at each other or ready to take off each other’s clothes. There is this kind of duality in your interaction with Bellamy that for an example, you didn’t have with Finn. You are connected to him in a way for us, looking at it from the outside, we don’t know if it is platonic or romantic,

When I came back to the dropship camp and you guys took me in, I was sure you and Bellamy were hooking up by the way you two acted around each other. It took a while for me to know you were actually involved with Finn,” He said to her as Raven continued his line of thought.

“I thought so too. At first, it was one of the reasons I fought so hard for Finn to stay with me because I thought why should he leave me for you when you were likely to be with Bellamy anyway? And then when you woke up back in camp Jaha and when Bellamy arrived, you ran into his arms, hugging him so tightly when in comparison to your awkward hug with Octavia, I thought you two would finally confess your feelings for each other and be together,” She said.

“Absolutely. I thought you and Bellamy would be together, living happily ever after for those three months. It wasn’t until Titus shot Lexa and I saw you with her that I realized you were in love with her,” Murphy finished. Clarke was bewildered with what they were telling her.

“There is nothing blurry or lie that between Bellamy and I. It never has. We were always just friends.” Clarke said to them confusedly.

“Yeah, we know now, but that is because we know you, him and Lexa. But to everyone else, it’s like there is a line between friends and lovers and you two seen to always been on the line, sometimes more on one side or the other and I guess Lexa sees it like that as well. Like the line between you two is always blurry.” Murphy said to her, but she just shook her head.

“But she knows I love her. I have told her many times that I love her.” Clarke said to them.

“It’s more like this.” Raven said getting her attention as she continued, “She knows you love her, but she doesn’t know if deep down you don’t love him more, be as a friend or more. Perhaps she thinks that independently of the love you have for her, that he is more important to you than she is,” Raven explained, and Clarke sighed at them. She was tired of people hinting at that, so she decided to speak her mind on the subject.

“Do you know why I connected with Bellamy so much? Maybe in a way I didn’t with Finn?” She asked them and they shook their heads.

“Because I knew him. I knew what his motives were. I knew why he did things he did. I knew what to expect of him and that brought a sense of stability that I didn’t had for a very long time. Everyone around me had a different agenda for what they did what they did and it would be different now than it would be two days from now but his agenda was always one, protect his sister. I knew that beyond what he said or did, that was his goal and I could work around it. Finn wanted me, then he was with Raven. Wells let me hate him so I wouldn’t hate my mother and when I finally found out about that, he died.

My mother was responsible for my father’s death but let me blame my innocent best friend for it so she wouldn’t lose me. Charlotte came to me and made me care about her than she turned around and murdered my best friend. Everyone made me see one thing and then they do something else. Not him. If Bellamy said he would do something, he would do something. I trusted him, not because he did the right thing but because I knew exactly what he would do before he even did it. At first, he was predictable. I knew that if it involved Octavia, he would act like this. If it didn’t, then he would act like that and I was right.

It is one of the reasons why I would rush straight into danger without thinking because I knew he would be there, right behind me, watching my back and keeping me safe. With time, Bellamy became reliable like that. I ran and hugged him so tight in Camp Jaha because it was the first time that I had to consciously put someone I cared about in danger. I could have killed him, I almost did but he survived. It was the knowledge that I didn’t kill him Has Finn been there and not massacring a village, I would have hugged him the same way.

He was so reliable that he would forgive me for things I wouldn’t dare forgive myself and I would do the same for him. Not very healthy, I know, but in those moments, when guilt was eating me up from inside hearing his words of forgiveness would help alleviate some of those feelings. But those same reasons I had for him before is why I found so easy to be friends with you John. You were predictable and reliable just as he was. Today, I have with you the kid of connection I had with Bellamy before. Now, I am his friend, his best friend but I am no longer as dependent on his stability as I was before. Now I have you guys for that.

But I guess the most important part is that never, not in the other timeline or this one, has Bellamy ever meant more to me than Lexa does. Because in her, I found so many things I wouldn’t find on anybody else but in regard to Bellamy, what I found in her was something I didn’t find on him. Understanding. He could have accepted the things I’ve done and he might have offered me forgiveness but he never really understood my pain and why I did the things I did and on that matter, no one, not even you guys, has ever understood me in the level she does. You bot have blamed me for things I did.

You, John, you blamed me for accusing you of killing Wells, for being responsible for the other kids hanging you, for banishing you. And you, Raven. You blamed for sleeping with your boyfriend, for taking him from you, then you must have blamed me for what Finn did at the village, you blamed me for killing him, you blamed me for letting the bomb drop on TonDC, you must have blamed me for leaving, then you blamed me for staying in Polis, then there were the things you said while under ALIE’s influence, then you blamed me for lying to our people about Praimfaya, you blamed me for how Luna was treated.

All these things are true. I could be blamed for all those things. I take responsibility for my part in those events. But this is the difference between everyone else in my life and Lexa. I was part of the group that fell down on her land burning her forest, I burned a village to the ground, I attacked her people, I blew up a bridge filled with her people, I slit one of her warrior’s throat and watched him die, I burned 300 of her warriors alive, I got Anya killed, I was the reason one of her villages were massacred, I took away her people right to avenge those deaths, I got Gustus killed, I let a bomb drop on her people, I rejected her when she kissed me, I left, I spit on her face, I held a knife to her throat, I was the reason she had to fight Roan, my people murdered 300 of hers and I made her pardon them, I was the reason she was killed.

And do you know for how may of those things she actually blames me for? None. And it is not that everything I do is okay with her. It is the simple fact that she understands why I did every one of those things. She gets it. And she does it because she has been where I am. She had been in the position to do some messed up decisions for her people so she knows that although those things are not okay, she doesn’t judge me for them. She may not agree, she may be angry because I did. But I know that if I dirty my hands in blood, she will be there to help me wash it off without a single trace of judgment in her eyes.

I know that the world may blame me, but she won’t. And that is just one of the infinite reasons why I love her so much. Because I do, I love her more than words are able to express. I love her in a way either one of you can imagine being possible for a human being to love another and I don’t care about anyone else’s feelings. I don’t care if Bellamy likes me that or if he did. I don’t care if someone else comes to like me like that either. My heart, my mind, my soul, all of who I am belongs to Lexa and it always will and I should be grateful that this happened.

You know why? Because it made me realize that there is so much I need to say to her. So much I need to apologize for, even if she doesn’t think it is needed. And most of all, it showed me that there is no way in hell I am losing her without a fight. I didn’t come so far to be with her to let a misunderstanding ruin what we have. I will take today to think things through and I will go help my mom with the transplants and tomorrow I am going to TonDC and I am not leaving there without fixing my relationship with the love of my life.

And for the love of God, never suggest something romantic between Bellamy and I ever again. All I feel for him is friendship. To me like a protective older brother so thinking about me and him like that is just EW and you would be glad to know he actually doesn’t like me like that. He has his sight on Echo already so do stop, okay? Now, if you both will excuse me, I have work to do,” Clarke finished her speech, stood up from the table, gave them both a kiss and left. Raven and Murphy was still shocked into their chair after just hearing Clarke’s monologue and the two friends could only look at each other, both still too shocked to say anything.


	32. Family rekindle

After hours meditating and thinking about the past and everything that happened in her life since then, Lexa finally opened her eyes, bringing herself back to the real world and when she looked around herself, she decided to take upon Anya’s suggestion to go to their house and spend some time with her and Tori. Maybe it could help get her mind out of this sadness or maybe she could just get some advice from them as a couple to find a solution from her own problems with her girlfriend so she stood up, just walked out of the room and into the night as she took a look around the village, grateful it was still standing.

She took her first few steps towards Anya’s house but in the last minute she decided to go check on Indra’s first, to check on her and her family as well, and went the other way. It didn’t take long before she got in front of their house and knocked on the door before she waited for someone to answer it. She knew that there were guards with her, as it was their duty to watch over their Commander but she ignored them and for one moment thought about when she was just a little girl that would come here to deliver messages to Indra under Anya’s order and the thought of those times couldn’t help but get a smile out of her. They were good times.

The door opened and Lexa smiled when she saw it was Levi the one who was on the other side while his eyes went wide when he saw who it was that just knocked on their door and he just stared. From what Indra had told her and from what she saw the last times she had been here, the boy had indeed developed a crush on her and she found herself flattered by it. “ **Hey, Levi** ,” She said to him and it seemed that it woke him up. He bowed his head before opening the door wide, stepping aside for her to enter and speaking.

“ **Commander, forgive me. Please, enter** ,” He said, motioning for her to step inside and she smiled before she walked into the house.

“ **Is your mother here? She better be. I told her to relax for the rest of the day** _,_ ” She said jokingly to him and he gave her a small smile, nodding his head before motioning for her to go forward and she did coming into the house’s living room to see Indra and Amir sitting together, both looking up when they saw her enter.

“ **Commander** ,” Indra said standing up but the young brunette just shook her head.

“ **Tonight, it’s just Lexa Indra. Relax** ,” Lexa joked with the older woman and the general nodded before giving her a small smile.

“ **Well, if that is the case, then I am quite sure that it means I can get a hug, right**?” Amir joked as Lexa chuckled at him and nodded her head.

“ **Why do you think I came here for if not to get one of your hugs Amir?** ” She told him and he smiled so big at her, just opened his arms in invitation and she hugged him as he swayed them from side to side, with his arms tight around her.

“ **You’re so big now. How did I become a senior citizen and didn’t even notice?** ” He said to her and she chuckled at him. She had missed him. Amir and Levi had been two of the people Finn had killed during the massacre of the village and when Clarke robbed Indra of the chance to avenge them, Lexa had a hard time convince her that more blood from the Sky people or them would only help the Mountain Men.

“ **What about Levi? I was here for when he was born and now look at him, he is so big now too** ,” Lexa said pulling back and the man smiled as did Indra and the young boy.

“ **Well, we were just about to eat. Amir cooked, obviously. Would you like to join us?** ” Indra asked her and Lexa smiled shaking her head.

“ **I would love too. Amir is such an incredible cook, I am sad to miss it but I already promised to have dinner with Anya and Tori. Maybe another time. I just wanted to stop by and say hi** ,” Lexa told them, and they nodded understanding.

“ **Well, you are always welcome in this house. Anytime, any day, for whatever reason. These doors are always open to you Lexa. For whatever you might need** ,” Amir sincerely said to her and she couldn’t help but smile genuinely at him.

“ **I know and you are always welcome to my home as well. It’s been far too long since the last time you visited Polis so you better start planning a trip there soon, otherwise I will be very offended with you** ,” She joked around, and they all laughed at that before she clasped his arm.

“ **Of course. We will go there as soon as possible** ,” Amir promised her.

“ **Good night Levi** ,” She said to the boy who replied to her shyly.

“ **Good night, Lexa** ,” He said to her with a shy smile on his face, not managing to look her in the eye. She smiled at his antics before she looked back at her general, Indra understood the look and motioned to follow her to the door.

“ **What of the prisoners from the Mountain? Are they secure and alive still? We cannot let people try to have their revenge on them before their punishment** ,” Lexa asked Indra who nodded her head.

“ **Tomac, Numen, Milt and Zita are on watch duty with orders not to allow anyone that is not you, me or Anya inside. They know to keep the prisoners safe until tomorrow and I trust that they will do so. They are very good warriors** ,” Indra explained to her.

“ **Very well then. Our people need this, we can’t have vengeful people trying to take that away. They need to be properly punished** ,” Lexa told her as Indra nodded, agreeing with her assessment. The Mountain leaders needed to suffer death by a thousand cuts for their crimes against all of their people, past and present.

“ **Don’t worry, nothing is going to stop them from paying their debt to those they have tortured and killed tomorrow. I will personally see to it** ,” Indra spoke. Lexa trusted her so she just hugged the woman and opened the door walking outside.

“ **See you tomorrow, Indra** ,” Lexa greeted her, and the woman gave her a small smile in return.

“ **See you tomorrow, Commander** ,” Indra said to her, reverting to her title since they were no longer in private. Lexa nodded before she walked away in the direction of Anya’s house, knocking on the door once she got there. Anya was the one who opened the door and saw her.

“ **We had been waiting for you for hours now** ,” She greeted Lexa and opened the door letting her former second get inside.

“ **Lexie** ,” Lexa heard coming from inside the house as she turned to see Tori while guilt come to take over her. Tori had died when the missile hit TonDC and was the one that Lexa gave the piece of Anya’s hair that Clarke gave her to, but she was glad of how different things were now between all of them. Indra still had her husband and son and she still had Anya and Tori.

“ **Hey, Tori. It’s good to see you** ,” Lexa said hugging the woman. Tori was about a year younger than Anya which meant that she was around 7 years older than Lexa. Anya, once she warmed up to Lexa, was almost like an older sister always being annoyed by the younger sister and Tori was always like the Mom, always making sure the two of them ate, slept, took care of themselves which is why unless in public, Tori never called her by her title, it was always Lexie. Lexa pulled back from the hug as the woman cupped her face.

“ **You look absolutely horrible, Lexie. Have you been sleeping at all? You know that you have to sleep well to function well, young lady. I taught you better than that, didn’t I?** ” Tori scolded her and Lexa couldn’t help but smile. She had missed Tori so much.

“ **I’m a grown woman, Tori. You do remember that, right? I do know how to take care of myself just fine. Absolutely horrible is your ass** ,” Lexa said to her, jokingly and Tori smiled.

“ **Just because you have grown up doesn’t mean you know how to take care of yourself, little one. Look at Anya, she is almost 33 and she still doesn’t know how to do that. I still need to remind her to do it or else she completely forgets it,** ” Tori joked as Lexa chuckled.  

“ **Thank you for the compliment. You would think my own wife would be always on my side instead of ganging up with this knucklehead to badmouth me while standing in front of me** ,” Anya said feigning to be angry at them while the other two laughed.

“ **I am on your side, darling but not on this. In the matter of taking care of yourself, you are just as bad as Lexa. But, let’s leave the interrogation for later, now we are all going to eat the delicious meal I prepared. Fully expecting compliments for my cooking skills, Anya. Sweet talk me and it will get you everywhere tonight** ,” Tori said, winking at her wife before she moved towards the kitchen.

“ **I hope I haven’t interrupted anything and if I did, at least wait until I have left to start on it again. I don’t not need to be further scarred for life. One time is more than enough for both of you** ,” Lexa joked and received a slap on the back of the head, “ **Hey, I am the Commander**.”

“ **You have been away long enough to forget that in this house, you’re not the Commander. Here you are my former second who I am very much allowed to reprimand for importunate comments with slap on the back on the head and much worse if I feel the need for it. Say something else to test me** ,” Anya said as she moved passed it and inside.

Lexa was grateful for that, even for the slap on her head. She needed people in her life that weren’t constantly reminding her of what she was but that allowed her to just be herself. So many people only saw the Commander and only expected her to be the Commander, she was glad at least these two along with Indra’s family and her own expected her to be just Lexa. She followed her former First and noticed that there was already a plate put out on the table for her, she went to help Tori as she always did whenever she ate with them, some habits are tough to break and some she doesn’t want to try.

“ **Did you visit Indra on your way here?** ” Anya asked her as she helped her wife as well.

“ **Yes. I wanted to see Amir and Levi**. **You were right. It has been way to long since the last time I was here. I missed them and both of you as well** ,” Lexa answered, and Anya chuckled.

“ **I knew it. I knew you wouldn’t help yourself and would have gone there first. You are so predictable sometimes**. **It is quite reassuring** ,” Anya joked, and Lexa scoffed at her.

“ **I am not predictable**. **You just know me too well, that is all. And why wouldn’t you? You practically raised me, you old hag** ,” She said and Anya nodded.

“ **Unfortunately. I can still say that you are just as annoying as you have always been and watch that damn mouth. Old hag is your sorry ass** ,” Anya said seriously, and Tori chuckled.

“ **I have missed this. Your little banter over who is more annoying and me reminding you both that you are equally as annoying. I honestly believe you two were made for each other. Really** ,” She said to them and they both scowled at her.

“ **No, thank you. I already had to handle this one for far too long. She is your problem. You spend the rest of your life being miserable because of her. I am done, thank the Spirit** ,” Lexa joked back with a serious face as Anya once again slapped her on the back on the head.

“I am this close to doing some serious damage to you. Watch it,” Anya said warningly, and Lexa smiled, knowing that despite her threat, Anya wouldn’t do anything to her.

“ **Okay, kids. It’s time to stop it. Let’s eat** ,” Tori said as they all sat on the table and started serving themselves. The time they spent eating, they took the chance to catch up with each other. Lexa and Anya continued to tease each other and soon enough they had all finished. After Lexa helped Anya to wash and dry the dishes, all three women moved towards the living room and sat down as Lexa finally moved to talk with them about what had been happening. She told them what happened with Clarke but obviously keeping the whole time-travel thing as secret. She hoped that the couple could give her any advice.

“ **Okay, first and most important question. Do you think that she would have cheated on you with this boy?** ” Anya asked her and Lexa shook her head. Of this she was sure about.

“ **No, Clarke wouldn’t do something like that. She would never cheat on me with anyone, not even him. If she wanted him, she would have told me but even so, I can’t help but be jealous of him** ,” Lexa told them.

“ **Well, then there is only thing you can do. Talk to her. Tell her everything that her closeness to this boy makes you feel, tell her how you felt with what you heard and listen to her answers. Listen to her reasons. Communication is the key to every relationship. If you two can’t talk to each other, it is never going to work no matter how much you may love one another. What the lack of communication will accomplish is driving you apart** ,” Tori explained to her.

“ **I am afraid of her answers** ,” Lexa sincerely told them.

“ **Being brave doesn’t mean you are not afraid. It just means you don’t let the fear win. If she is worth it, if your relationship is worth it, then you swallow that fear and you go for it. Whatever the result is, it will be better than this** ,” Anya advised her.

“ **I am not as worried about the conversation you need to have about the boy as I am about the fight you had before that** ,” Tori said to them.

“ **Why do you say that?** ” Lexa asked her.

“ **Because the reason for the fight is something that will always happen. No matter how much peace you achieve, you will always be subjected to challenges, to fights to the death and if she wants to be with you, she needs to understand that** ,” Tori told her.

Lexa could see the point she was trying to make and asked, “ **So you think I need to make sure she understands what exactly she is signing herself for by being with me?** ”

“ **Yes. Explain to her how demanding your life is and how dangerous it can be and what you want from her, what you need from her and let her make her choice. It’s all you can do really** ,” Anya replied and Lexa nodded her head.

What Anya was saying made a lot of sense and it may be a problem for them the same way sometimes it was a problem for her and Costia. Lexa didn’t want that to happen to them should they decide to try to make things work. She made the decision to do exactly what Anya suggested, lay her cards on the table for Clarke to see if she is ready for it. And if she isn’t, then Lexa will have to pick up her pieces and carry on, but it was better having tried it than to sweep it under the rug. This conversation would certainly be a defining moment for them and Lexa couldn’t help but feel worried if they can rise above it.


	33. Travelling

As soon as she looked at her watch and saw that it was 6AM in the morning, Clarke got out of bed cot she was in and sat down clutching her knees close to her as she looked to the side and saw her best friends still sleeping in their own cot in the tent they were sharing outside of the Mountain and she smiled. She was glad to have them both with her through this crazy journey and she was also thankful for the intervention they did with her which made her rethink a lot of her actions from the past and from now as well, things that apparently she was too blinded to see but had to in regard to Bellamy and some other mistakes she has made.

Putting together the talk she had with Murphy and Raven the day before and the one she had with Lexa and Kane the day before they started marching on the Mountain, she realized how her relationship with Bellamy had been toxic before. She never thought that would ever be the word she would come to use to describe her friendship with him but the more she spoke with her friends, the more she started to realize that that is exactly the best way to describe it. They had no idea just how bad that dynamic was to them.

And now, with the wake up call she received from Raven and Murphy, Clarke also realized that her friendship with Bellamy in the other timeline could have been misunderstood, from his side because from hers, there was no doubt in her mind she didn’t feel anything more than friendship for him. But that new knowledge helped her understand why Lexa still felt jealous of him, despite the fact that she has a much more healthy and closer friendship with Wells and John than she ever did with Bellamy, before or now.

Between everything that was going around since she was woken up, Lexa hadn’t had the time to see the new friendship Clarke has built with Bellamy, this better version of their friendship. Lexa only remembers the things Clarke did for him and what he did for her and how she felt unimportant to Clarke until the very end. She was able to understand how that might feel for her fiancée and she could realize how the radio call could have sounded to Lexa’s ears and she only hoped that they could really talk and settle this distance between them soon.

But she wasn’t sure that after everything that happened, after everything Lexa went through because of the Sky people, and most importantly because of her and Bellamy in particular, how long it might take for her to forgive Clarke. It could be too late and the blonde had no idea what she would do if that happens. It couldn’t, no matter how much Clarke had to beg, she wouldn’t let herself lose the woman she loved so much because in their previous life, she was a stupid and selfish hypocrite. She was better now, not much but she was learning about where she went wrong and she is doing her best not to make them again.

She could only hope that, at the end of the day, that promise and that compromise would help Lexa forgive her for everything, not just the misunderstanding but for every way in which she had wronged the brunette girl. Clarke sighed and put on her boots, her jacket and walked out of the tent they were all in and took a look around the camp that was made outside of the Mountain before she went back inside the tent to wake up her friends, they needed to get going, if they wanted to get to TonDC. Clarke first woke up Murphy who was much easier to get up and then with his help, they both woke up Raven.

Clarke waited outside of the tent for them to get dressed and ready. Once they did and came out, she turned to them, “I will go get my mom and you guys go get the truck.”

They nodded at her before they both started moving towards the vehicle. Mount Weather had many cars for their adventures and captures, one of them was a big truck that last time they had used to carry the barrels of hydrazine back when they were trying to escape Praimfaya. Only now it would be used to transport everyone to TonDC for the celebration as well as the punishment of the Mountain leaders. Clarke went inside the Mountain and directly to the lab where she knew her mother was and she opened the door.

“Mom,” She called, and Abby appeared out of a room.

“Clarke, sweetheart. Is something wrong?” Abby asked as she walked towards her daughter and they hugged before Clarke pulled back to look at her.

“No, there is nothing wrong, but we do need to go to Arkadia, get the others and then go to TonDC for the trials. Is everything ready here?” She asked her mom and the older woman nodded, looking around the place before answering.

“Yes, Jackson and I were able to get what with needed in these boxes and still leave enough for the Mountain people still living here.” Abby told her daughter.

“Okay. Guards,” Clarke called out and the men appeared by the door, “Get these boxes to the truck Raven is driving outside and be very careful. Some of those are very fragile content in it.” It was weird, but in a good way to see the mix between Arkers and Grounders working together towards one goal. It was definitely something she could get used to and she hoped that everyone would get that chance.

“Are you ready to go?” Clarke asked. Abby nodded before she went to wake up her partner.

“Jackson, wake up,” She shook him awake as he straightened up while looking at them, “We are leaving. Come on, grab your stuff.”

“Okay. I’m going,” He said to her and started moving to get his stuff. In about 20 minutes they were ready to go. The three of them walked out of the lab and through the halls before they met with Maya and Jasper and Clarke stopped to speak with them.

“Mom, Jackson, you guys can go ahead, I will be right behind you,” She said to them and they nodded, continuing on their way as she turned around to face the two lovers.

“You guys are leaving?” Jasper asked her and she nodded smiling at him.

“Yes. All that we needed to do here have already been done. The weapons and the drugs were destroyed, the bone transfusion completed. It’s time to go,” Clarke said to them and Jasper looked at Maya and Clarke understood his look and she smiled, she was glad he has found happiness with Maya, he deserves it, “Well, if you will excuse me, I have to go. Maya, it was nice meeting you and I am glad we were able to help each other out,” Clarke said as she extended her hand to the girl who nodded taking it.

“It was nice meeting you too and thank you for everything,” Maya greeted her back with a smile on her face. She owed hers and her people’s lives to Clarke.

“Jasper,” The blonde said as she looked at the boy before she pulled him into a hug that he readily returned, “I’m going to miss you,” She said in his ears and he was shocked for a moment before he understood that she was letting him stay with Maya.

“I’ll miss you too. But you can always come to visit. Monty already promised he would and I can always go to Arkadia as well,” He said to her and she chuckled before she pulled back.

“Yeah, who knows? Take care of yourself and them, okay? I’m still counting on you,” Clarke said to him and he saluted.

“Yes, ma’am. I will do my best to help them with everything they need,” He promised her, and she smiled at him, thinking about how much different he was already.

“Goodbye Jas,” She said, hoping that now he would have a good shot at the happiness he deserved with Maya by his side. He smiled gently at her.

“Goodbye Clarke,” He said to her before she turned around and walked away from the couple who held hands and continued their way back to level 5.

Clarke turned back one last time to look at the happy couple before she continued walking until she finally got outside, after many twists and turn through Mount Weather many halls. Once outside, she saw the truck and her friends waiting for her, she kept on going and Murphy opened the passenger door for her and helped her get inside as she closed it and walked out to the Rover while Raven got into the driver’s seat and closed the door, turning on the engine.

“Shall we?” She asked Clarke who smiled at her.

“We shall,” Clarke answered and Raven started on the truck and started on their way back to Arkadia. Clarke looked by the window watching the tree and the view during the trip who took only 3 hours before they saw the gates of Arkadia and stopped by the side of it, letting the rover get inside before Clarke and Raven got out of the truck and got others to come and help them get the stuff out of the back of the truck and inside Arkadia.

Once everything was inside, Clarke spoke to the people and told them not to touch anything because it would all be sorted out for everyone once they had a chance to do that. She also explained that a group of them would be leaving but that as soon as they returned everything would be decided for the best of their people and they nodded before she went to her friends and told them that they were leaving for TonDC. It took them about another hour and a half before everyone that was going was on the rover and the truck.

Clarke took the passenger seat on the rover besides Raven with Murphy, Wells and Jessica on the back seat while Wick had the truck and all the others there including, her parents and sister, Miller, Monty, Kane and Callie, Harper, Bellamy and Finn. Clarke liked that division because she had no interest in being around either Finn or Bellamy at the moment. Not that she was angry with Bellamy or anything, but she wanted more time to think things through, what their friendship means to her relationship and how if it comes to a choice between keeping Lexa or keeping Bellamy, she will always choose Lexa.

“So, what are you going to do about the Commander, blondie? Some groveling would be nice,” Murphy spoke breaking the silence and Clarke just rolled her eyes.

“Why would Clarke grovel to the Commander?” Jessica asked not understanding what was going on and although Clarke hadn’t told him outright, Wells was pretty sure he knew that there was something more between those two.

“Can I tell her? Please,” Murphy begged, and Clarke simply shook her head in defeat but with a smile on her face. He was a jackass, but she loved him.

“Go ahead. I know you are dying to tease me about. Jess, just remember that whatever he says, you can’t tell anyone about it,” Clarke said looking at the girl through the rearview mirror.

“So, you know how Clarke and the Commander are close?” Murphy asked the girl who simply nodded her head, staring to be afraid of what she would hear, “Well, they are screwing each other,”

“Seriously, you jackass? You don’t think that simply saying that we are dating is enough? You have to take it to the gutter?” Clarke just let out an indignant laugh, asked him. He chuckled.

“Where would be my fun in that? Besides, you know very well that where she is concerned, your mind is always on the gutter,” He said mockingly as Raven nodded her head with certainty making Clarke look at her questioningly.

“Why are you nodding your head like that?” Clarke asked her best friend beside her. Raven took her eyes off the road to look at her blonde best friend before answering.

“I know Lexa is your girl and all but come on Clarke. That woman is a beauty sexy goddess personified. It is not something easy to accomplish, especially hormonal teenagers like us, to look at her and not have your mind go to the gutter,” Raven said seriously. Clarke laughed.

“Are you seriously dating the Commander?” Jessica asked her after the initial shock wore off and Clarke nodded her head as the girl continued speaking, “Wow. I was not expecting that. Did you know Wells?”

Wells looked at his girlfriend before he found two of his best friends looking at him expectantly and he sighed before giving Clarke a small smile, “I didn’t know for sure, but I had a pretty good idea that they were already together or very close to getting there.”

“How is it, Clarke? Being with someone like the Commander?” Jessica asked the blonde out of curiosity. She had met the Commander and she was a very powerful but very beautiful woman. She couldn’t help but wonder about her.

Clarke had to stop for a second to think about how to speak without giving too much away. Once she found the words, she spoke, “It’s very different that dating someone from our people would be. There is the cultural difference, the fact she is the Commander and I am a leader to my people, her enemies, my enemies but, in the end, being with her is one, if not the best feeling I have ever felt in my life and I can’t wait to be with her again.”

“I could see that, but I don’t understand one thing. Why do you need to grovel to her? What did you do?” Wells asked his best friend who took a deep breath before releasing it.

“The night we were drinking, Lexa called the camp to make sure I was there and was okay. Charlotte picked up and came all the way to my room to check on me but when she got there with the radio working, they heard me and Bellamy inside my room. We were just playing around, or more I was laughing at how drunk he was and we were joking about sleeping together. She heard and misunderstood it. Nothing like that ever happened between us, mind you. I would never cheat on her and she knows it, but she is also jealous of him so,” Clarke explained to them and Wells could only nod his head understanding her situation.

“I can imagine. Though I know you probably know her better than I do, I would like to give you just one advice,” He said, and Clarke turned her body so she could look at him from her seat and he smiled at her, “Be honest. To the bones. Much of the problems that come with communication is that we lie to each other too much, thinking it’s better that way or that we are trying to protect them, but it only makes things worse. Be 100%honest with her and encourage her to be 100%honest with you too and you will work it all out.”

Clarke nodded her head absorbing his advice. It’s true that her relationship with Lexa is complicated in their history department but Clarke could see the point Wells was trying to make. They had almost been walking around eggshells with each other since being reunited, which is why that at their first real fight, Clarke simply stormed off. They hadn’t really talked about things of their past they need to solve before moving forward and he was absolutely right that they needed to be honest. Even if not with the world, then at least with one another.

“Thanks Wells. I think I will use your advice,” She said to him and he shook his head.

“Anytime you need, Clarke. Anytime,” He said to her sincerely and she was recomforted by the fact that she knew she really could count on him at any time. That made her feel better and his advice gave her a lot to think about what this visit needs to be like for them as they continued on their way by talking about many different things, helping Clarke take her mind off of the girl even if for just a moment. Clarke could feel she was in a much better state to deal with fixing their relationship than she would have been if she had come before.


	34. Amazing News

The small group spent their time talking and catching up with each other, Jessica learned more about their deal with the grounders, Murphy continued to tease Clarke about the Commander, Raven laughed, and Clarke and Wells simply rolled their eyes at their friend’s antics. The trip didn’t take as long as the last time they had made it so within two hours at max after leaving Arkadia, they got there. Clarke was the first one to get down from the truck as she went to speak with the guards who nodded at their entrance but no weapons.

“Guys, weapons,” Clarke motioned for them to put their weapons inside the cars and everyone did before Murphy and Raven locked them and they all started on their way inside.

The Sky People walked inside the village accompanied by some grounder guards with the people of the village looking at them with gratefulness in their eyes, obviously because of their part in the defeat of the Mountain which for Clarke was definitely a first. She had not believed there would be a moment in which they would enter this village, in particular, where they wouldn’t be welcomed with sticks and stones being thrown at them along with a number of insults in both languages but in this moment, Clarke could see the changes she has made to all of their lives, not just the closest people to her but to the general population as well.

She didn’t think she had seen it as clearly until now because before this, ever since getting to the ground, she changed small things, said things differently. But it was difficult to see the significant change from the previous timeline, to see where she had been actively modifying the present and shaping the future as she was supposed to. Sure, her Dad, Charlotte, Wells, and Finn were alive, Murphy was on their side, Raven was completely healthy, the alliance strong, the Mountain defeated through the right way, but it never dawned on her until now.

 **“Thank you for helping the Commander free my son from the Mountain,”** This old man came to her and said that. She could only smile at him while pretending she didn’t understand what he was saying and it carried on, with people thanking all of them and Clarke looked at everyone seeing the smiles on their faces as she couldn’t help but give a big one herself. This was exactly what she had hoped would have happened the first time around but that ended up turning to the opposite direction of gratitude.

“What are they saying?” Clarke heard her father ask out loud to the Guard next to him and the man answered him as best as he could.

“They are thanking you for your role in the Mountain’s defeat,” He answered, and the Sky People nodded their heads now understanding better what was going on. They continued walking until they came to the center and there stood Lexa in all of her Commander glory watching them and immediately Clarke tried to capture her eyes and when she did, Clarke willed Lexa to understand everything that was going on.

She knew that on the note Lexa had said she didn’t believe Clarke had cheated but in spite of that, she needed Lexa to see that she didn’t do anything wrong and that she would never be unfaithful to her like this, she wanted Lexa to understand that the mistakes she made on the past would not be repeated here, that she loved her more than anything and that that was the truth but Lexa just gave her a subtle hake of head to warn that now was not the time or the place for them to talk even though the brunette knew they needed to. Right now, they could only be the leaders of their people and Clarke understood nodding back.

“Welcome to TonDC,” Lexa said to the group once they all got close enough.

“Thank you for inviting us, Commander. We are much grateful for the consideration,” Clarke said politely, and Lexa only nodded.

“Of course, it could not be any different. The Sky people’s part in the defeat of the Mountain was the advantage we needed to win. If today we will celebrate our freedom from their reign of terror, it is highly thanks to you and your people’s work. I would be very ungrateful not to invite you to join us,” Lexa said to all of them.

“It was our pleasure to be of help and you should not underestimate your people’s work as well. Your warriors also did a wonderful work on the battlefield, all thanks to your leadership,” Kane spoke praising her people and Lexa smiled.

“You flatter me, but I will take the compliment towards my warriors. The Army will also be celebrated tonight at the party but for now, we will have other matters to deal with. The trials of the prisoners we have brought from the Mountain will happen in a few moments.

Though the presence of your people would be welcomed, we understand if you would rather not participate for now but either way, accommodations have been prepared for all of you, by personal request of the people of TonDC. Three houses have been separated for your stay here. You will shortly be taken there,” Lexa explained it all to them before Jake spoke up.

“What about the people who live in those houses? Where will they be staying at? We wouldn’t want to take on their homes like this,” He said sincerely, and Lexa nodded.

“I understand. The owners of the houses were the ones to offer their homes during your stay here besides it will only be a day, they don’t mind sleeping somewhere else. Believe me, it will be an honor for them.” Lexa explained and Jake nodded, “Very well. The guards will take you there. You must forgive me for not taking you there myself but there is much to be done.”

They nodded their heads understanding what she spoke of before she called to the guards and ordered them to take the Sky people to their assigned houses before she turned back to them.

“A guard will come to warn you when the trials start just in case you want to see it, if not, you can stay inside and when it is over, another guard will come to warn you. Now, if you will excuse me,” She said to them before she turned around and walked away with that being the only sight Clarke could see now her back. She had to swallow her disappointment down for a while, but she knew she wouldn’t give up, they would talk and fix things between them in relation to the past and the present once and for all.

“Come with me,” The guard said and motioned for them to follow and they did without any trouble and walked just a little further before they came to a stop and the guards motioned to the three houses. “Enjoy your stay,” He said before he left them by themselves.

“Okay, let’s divide this so that no mix up happens. Adults, to the first, girls the second, boys the third.” Clarke said and some grunted, but she only smiled as she pushed them to start moving forward, “Come on, let’s not be crybabies now. Go.”

So, in the first, there were: Abby, Jake, Kane, Callie and Jaha; in the second: Clarke, Raven, Monroe, Harper, Jessica, Charlotte; and in the third: Bellamy, Wells, Murphy, Finn, Monty and Miller. They all went inside the houses and got divide in the room there were. Obviously, the adults were separated by couples and Jaha stood alone. For the boys, Bellamy was to room with Finn, Monty with Miller and Murphy with Wells. The girls, Clarke with Charlotte, Monroe with Harper and Jessica with Raven.

“This place is amazing,” Charlotte said as she looked around their room, “Clarke, this is a real house. Can you believe it?”

Clarke gave her a smile as she watched the girl take it all in, “Yeah, it’s pretty cool, isn’t it?” Clarke said to her and Charlotte nodded.

“This is so much better than the Ark. It’s so cold and unfeeling there but here, there is color and warmth and people really living,” Charlotte as she sat down besides Clarke and noticed her sister’s sour mood.

“You miss her,” Charlotte said. It was spoken as a statement and not a question and Clarke knew her sister was talking about Lexa so she did the only thing she could. She nodded.

“I just wish we could talk right now so I could explain myself, but there is so much we need to swallow down for now and focus on our people that I am scared it will just cause the drift to grow and I don’t want that to happen, you know?” Clarke said and Charlotte nodded.

“Expecting her to drop everything she needs to do today to talk to you is insane, Clarke. Not to mention a little bit selfish. You know she can’t do that, no matter how much either one of you wants to. She is about to give her people justice for all the years the bad people in the Mountain hurt them. That is the only thing she can think about right now. The only thing she should be thinking about now. The only thing you should to do is show your support,” Charlotte said to her and Clarke nodded,

“Yeah. I know,” Clarke said as she pondered over the words Charlotte was telling her and she couldn’t help but agree with her sister. She was being extremely selfish in regard to Lexa’s time, wanting her to come and talk to Clarke when she has more pressing matters to deal with. It is something that will always happen because of Lexa’s position and Clarke didn’t want to make Lexa feel guilty about that, at least not anymore than she apparently already has.

“But once the celebration is over and she is finally allowed to relax, then you can go to her and ask for a moment for the two of you to talk. I’m sure she will say yes and then you can finally set things right between the two of you without anything getting in the way,” Charlotte advised her while Clarke just looked at her with a smile on her face.

“When did you grow up so much that you’re giving me love advice and where was I when that was happening that I didn’t see?” Clarke asked her and Charlotte shook her head smiling.

“Well, it was thanks to you guys. After my parents died, you were all there for me and being around you helped me heal,” Charlotte said before she continued, “I don’t think I would have turned out like this if everything had happened and I had no one to lean on like I had with all of you, including Jake and Abby.”

Clarke could only nod as she remembered how tormented Charlotte had been during those first three days in which they were together the first time around, at the beginning of their stay here on Earth and how it drove her to kill Wells because of his father’s crimes, let someone take the fall for her own crime and jump off of that cliff. And from everything she has done with this second chance she was given, this was one of Clarke’s proudest changes. The fact that she could change Charlotte’s life for the better and give her a decent life and future was all the reward she wanted for going through with this time travel thing.

“Well, I for one am glad that we got to know each other. I mean, look at us. We’re sisters now, that is awesome, isn’t it?” Clarke asked her and Charlotte smiled.

“It’s really awesome. I always wanted siblings and now I have you. I love you Clarke,” Charlotte said hugging her and Clarke hugged her back.

“I love you too, Charlie. Very much,” Clarke replied to her and she truly meant. Charlotte was as much her sister as if she was of her own blood and Clarke was happy to see the little girl so happy herself, she deserved it.

In another house in one of the rooms, one couple was cuddling in the bed they were given. Kane and Callie were together talking about everything that happened as well and he was doing most of the talk because Callie was more focused on something she needed to tell him but she didn’t know how he would react to this news so she was kind of tense and worried and it seemed he finally caught up with it because he looked down at her.

“Callie, is something wrong? You’re very quiet,” He asked his wife and she took a deep breath.

Callie pulled back from him and got out of the bed as she started pacing around the room, making him more worried. Kane sat down on the bed facing her.

“Hey, you can talk to me. Whatever it is, we can deal with it together,” He said to her and she looked at him before taking the courage she needed and started speaking.

“I have something to tell you. Something very important that is going to change our lives forever,” She said to him seriously and he nodded, getting a little worried.

“Okay, then tell me. It can’t be that bad,” He said to her and she shook her head, “Go ahead. Say it.” He told her and she took a deep breath.

“After we helped your Mom plant her tree and we had that talk, I made a decision,” She said to him and he waited for her to continue, “I asked Abby to remove the contraceptive implant,” She said to him and the moment she said it, he understood where she was getting but he couldn’t believe it.

“Wait, are you saying…” He said and wasn’t able to finish it but she was the one to continue. She put her hand on her belly and nodded.

“I’m pregnant.” She said to him and he was shocked by hearing the words come out of her mind and the only thing he could do was smile and get up to hug her very tight.

“Oh my God,” He said to her and she hugged him back.

“Are you happy?” She asked him and he nodded.

“Extremely shocked but yes. Of course. I told you I wanted us to have a family,” Kane then pulled back and kissed her passionately. He had never imagined that this would happen to him. He had never wanted to try and have kids before but since changing, he had secretly started to wonder what it would be like and now, he knew he would have the chance to find out. He would be a dad. His wife would give him a child, their child. He couldn’t be happier if he had tried and he hoped Callie could feel it through his kiss.

He had to admit that for a brief moment when he was given the chance to come back to a year before their arrival on Earth, the loss of the relationship he had formed with Abby hit him pretty hard. They had come to find in each other companions who understood each other and he had loved her but now in this moment he knew that he could have never loved her as much as he loved his wife or feel happier with her than he was right now at the prospect of forming a family with Callie. He was truly glad for this change and he promised himself to be the best husband and father his wife and child could ever ask for.


	35. Putting it behind

After some time that they had been given to organize themselves into their new accommodations in the village, the Sky People all came out of the designated houses, one by one. The first ones to appear were the boys who had had no problem in getting settled in and once they came out of their house they found Lincoln and Octavia there waiting for them. Bellamy immediately went to his sister’s side, having missed her a lot despite the fact that they had only been apart for a couple of days, then the others came out as well joining them in conversation. “You’re the guards sent to get us?” Murphy asked them after the siblings greeted each other and the young couple nodded.

“To warn you and escort you to watch the punishment if that is what you all want.” Lincoln answered before Octavia continued speaking warning them, “But before you make any decision to go watch it or not, do remember that the grounder way of doing things is a lot different than ours and although no less barbaric, it is more brutal than simply floating people into space, so be prepared for what you are going to see. The prisoners will suffer cuts from the hands of all the people they hurt so it will be very messy.”

“She is right. It can be very messy and tough to watch but it’s their custom so if you are going to be judging and calling them stuff because it, it’s best if you don’t go. Just stay back and enjoy the rest of the village, the forest,” Clarke said to everyone warningly. She would not have anyone of her people disrespect the grounder culture.

“We understand the message and even if we do not agree, we will respect their customs,” Kane said to her and looked at everyone who nodded their heads at them, acknowledging that they understood the instruction and that they would all abide by it.

“Charlotte, are you sure you don’t want to stay? It’s not going to be a nice thing to watch.” Clarke said to her sister, worried about her but the younger girl simply who shook her head.

“I know that but I want to go with you. I am very curious to see the grounders and the Commander. I will be fine,” She said assuredly. Clarke nodded her head in agreement.

“Okay but stay with Mom and Dad at all times, I will have to stay with the Commander since I am the leader of our people,” Clarke warned and Charlotte nodded before she walked towards their parents and joined them, holding both of their hands in hers.

“Very well, then lead the way,” Clarke said to the two warriors who nodded and started walking the rest following them through a few houses before they saw the crowd gathered and they made way for the Sky people to come forward and they did, seeing the Mountain men all tied up to trees without a shirt on.

“Clarke. Join me.” They heard Lexa say and Clarke nodded. She looked at her family before she moved towards the woman she loved and stood by her side as she faced the prisoners, not missing the faces of Emerson and Cage when they saw her enter. Anya asked for silence and Lexa took a deep breath before she started speaking.

“Leaders of the Mountain, today it will be the day in which you pay for the pain you caused.” Lexa said loud enough for everyone to hear as she grabbed her dagger and passed to the side to Clarke who looked at her and the dagger.

“For your role in their defeat, first cut is yours Clarke,” Lexa said to her and Clarke nodded as she grabbed the dagger, her fingers brushing against Lexa’s who pulled her hand back and motioned for Clarke to take a step towards them and with a deep breath Clarke walked towards the first. Dr. Tsing. The woman was crying and had a look of fear in her face.

“Please, help me. Don’t let them do this to us,” The woman asked Clarke who only responded by making a cut on her belly as the woman screamed at the pain. Clarke then moved to Dante.

“I hope you never have to face the choices I did and be as harshly judged by them as I am being right now,” He said to her and she just looked at him before she spoke.

“If I do make the same choices, I will bear any punishment so that my people won’t have to,” She said to him seriously echoing his former words back at him before she cut him in the same place she cut Dr. Tsing. She moved forward to the next one and there was Cage. He just looked at her with pure hate reflected on his face and she knew her face shined with the same feeling.

“You will pay for this. You hear me? We will be avenged,” He said to her but she didn’t even want to say anything to him. She didn’t want to waste her saliva on him. She cut him nearing a very painful place that being the daughter of a doctor and being one herself helped her know about and watched him contort himself in pain before she moved onto Emerson.

She just cut him and tried to block whatever he was saying to her before she walked right back and passed the dagger to Indra who took it and moved forward. She made her cuts near where Clarke had made hers because she knew the pain would be bigger for all of them and Tsing’s screams were louder as well as the men’s grunt of pain were getting louder too. Once the general was done, she passed it down to Anya who repeated the process and that was how it went. Those who finished passed to the ones who had yet to go as the rest watched.

The prisoners were already badly bruised. Tsing was already with a hoarse voice from screaming so much and from crying as well. About an hour into the punishment and Cage was finally screaming his lungs out too, his father holding out longer than to be expected by a man his age, however before the next one went on, Lexa raised a hand and they stopped before she stepped forward and walked towards Dante and looked at him before she pulled her sword out. She prepared herself, pointing the sword in the direction of the man’s heart before saying their prayer and shoving the sword through his body, killing him.

She pulled it back and back on the sheath before she walked back to her place and gave the order to the warrior with the dagger to start the process again, “Continue.”

She ordered and about half an hour later, everyone in the village had had their turn with the knife and the three survivors were deeply bruised, badly bleeding and some were even barely alive up to that point, holding out for longer given how unprepared for pain they were. Though the Dr was passed out from the pain, the other two men were still conscious so Lexa finally moved forward again and repeating the same motion she had done with Dante, swiftly killed all three of them before she walked to the center and looked at everyone.

“ **Today, we have avenged all of those who were captured, trapped, drained of their blood, killed, turned into reapers, all by the hands of these people. Today we have put our dead to rest knowing that their killers were brought to justice for all the crimes they have committed against us. Today, we have marked the dawn of a new Era for our people where we no longer need to fear the Mountain’s shadow over us, where our kids can run through our woods. Where we are no longer their prey, where we are finally free!** ” Lexa said and everyone cheered for her including the Sky people who had Lincoln as their translator.

“ **Now, as previously agreed between myself and the generals along with the warriors, the innocents who lived under these people’s leadership, who refused to be a part of their cruelty, who helped us defeat them, the remaining people of the Maunon have been spared and will make their home outside of the Mountain who will be closed off for good unless I say otherwise. They are not to be hurt under threat of severe punishment. They helped us and without them, our victory would not have been possible. Is that understood?** ” She said to her people and a chorus of Sha Heda was heard from all of them.

“ **Very well. Now that this nightmare is officially over, we will burn their bodies to even if only in death, show them that they were the true savages, not us.”** She said and they nodded before warriors came and untied the bodies before putting them on the pyre that was built. Indra made to give the torch to Lexa who shook her head, **“The honor is yours, general** ,” She said and stepped back motioning for Indra to do it and pass the torch, the woman nodded and light up the pyre throwing the torch in which quickly started burning the woods.

Everyone watched as the flames started taking up the wood and started growing in power, they all had to move back to avoid getting burnt but they kept on watching and some were muttering their prayers to the Spirit for the end of their reign and for the souls of those they had lost to the Mountain. Everyone had different things going through their heads in that moment. For an example, Anya was thinking about how good of a Commander Lexa was and how her relationship with the Sky girl would amplify that.

Indra was thinking about how the Commander gave her the honor to light the pyre and that finally her people will not have to worry about those people again, seeing that the ones that remain have no guns and no soldiers to dare and raise weapons against them. The Sky People were thinking more along the lines of how brutal and honest their method of punishment was, or how strong these people were to face everything they have, or how things are going to be different from now on or how close Clarke is to the Commander.

Inside Clarke’s mind, she was thinking about two different things primarily. The first one being the last time they had done something like this and how the pyre had been covered with the bodies of the 18 people Finn had murdered during the massacre he committed and how his body was resting atop of the pyre. How it broke her heart to think that he was really gone and how flattered she was that Lexa had handled the torch to her even despite what everything that he had done to her people, she still gave Clarke the chance to do right by him.

It had been difficult not only for her to watch him but for the others as well, especially Raven, to see him burning like this, to realize that he was never coming back that they would never hear his voice or see his face or feel his hand. Clarke had stayed to watch until the end, finding it hard to let go of him and Lexa had stayed with her to offer support and even told her about her own painful past experience with loss which admittedly brought them a lot closer even if they disagreed on the girl’s views regarding loving and caring for other people.

And the other thing clouding her mind was the thought of how different it was the end of the Mountain problem between both timelines. In the OGTL, but this point, Clarke was curled up inside a cave near the Trikru border with Trishanakru after learning that she was being considered Wanheda, the Commander of Death. It had hit her hard and it had reminded her of everything and everyone she had killed to earn such a title and the self-pity was threatening to overwhelm her until she found that blaming Lexa for everything helped alleviate it.

Meanwhile with Lexa, the thoughts of the trials her people went through for years because of these people, how Costia’s parents were lost to the Mountain and how Lexa comforted her promising that one day, she would make them pay for every tear the girl had shed because of them. That promise was finally fulfilled. She brought them to justice as she had promised and the fact that her people no longer had to fear them elated her beyond what she could have imagined. Six years too late but she knew that wherever she was, Costia would be thankful for it and so was Lexa, she hated breaking promises which is why she rarely made them.

Last time, she had no other choice other than to retreat despite her desire to stay and help in the fight. She had felt bad about it, not only for what had happened to Clarke personally, but now they had done it. Now, that this particular nightmare was behind them for good and as she watched the bodies of their longtime enemies burn to ashes, Lexa filled herself with a good amount of hope and worry. Hope for the new times ahead, for all the plans she has for her people and now will have the chance to make them, hope that the future she dreamed for all of them will finally be possible. Hope for a world of peace.

And also worry for the safety of the Coalition. Without Wanheda, Nia will have to use a different approach to her defiance and her desire to see Lexa dead with Ontari following her on the throne. Lexa would have to keep an eye open for any betrayal from her Ambassadors or anything like that happening again. She would have to be very careful not only for herself but for her people’s safety as well. However, she had confidence that she could do it this time around. With the knowledge she had of how things turned out she knew what how high the stakes were if she failed. She vowed she wouldn’t.


	36. Reality Check

Once again, in TonDc the flames burned and burned and consumed all the bodies from the Mountain Men and the woods of the pyre with the intensity only the fire could bring, cleaning their past and opening the doors to the future, a much brighter and if all goes well, much safer. After a while obviously the flames started to die down and people started leaving to go finish preparations for the feast that was to happen in the night to celebrate the end of the war and another victory over their enemies as well as their new alliance with the Sky people.

Her parents were one of the first to leave and took Charlotte away with them, with the others following fast after them going back to their designated houses to rest a little. On Lexa’s side, people took longer to leave, given that their pain was bigger than that of the Sky People and they needed to see the fire and the ashes to fully believe that it was true. But at the end, same as last time, the two of them were the only ones there and found themselves in a very familiar situation but coming from very different circumstances.

Clarke took the chance seeing that they were relatively alone and spoke, “Can we talk now?”

Lexa took a deep breath before she answered in a cold tone that Clarke hated it, “I figured you would be the one to broach the subject first.”

She had never wanted to hear that tone of voice directed to her and she hoped she never would again. Lexa had always been loving and understanding but Clarke could see why this would be harder for her given their history on the subject of Bellamy but now, the only thing she could hope for was that Lexa would give her a chance to talk and apologize for every time Clarke had mistreated her and for making her think she was less important to Clarke than Bellamy was, even now. She had to make her girlfriend see that she loved her, no one else.

Clarke turned to face the brunette with a pained and tired expression on her face and was about to say everything she was bottling up since yesterday but before she could mouth a single word, they heard someone calling for the Commander and they both turned to see Artigas coming towards them. “ **Commander, a few of the generals would like to speak to you. Immediately. They are waiting in the meeting room** ,” He said lowering his head in respect to her. Lexa looked at him and gave a short nod.

“ **I’m on my way, thank you for relaying the message Artigas**.” She said to him and he nodded giving her a small smile before leaving the two girls alone again.

“I have to go see what the generals want. We will speak about this later, don’t worry. Just take the time you have and actually try to enjoy the rest of the day Clarke,” Lexa said to Clarke before she started on her way to go see what her generals wanted from her this time while sighing at the missed opportunity to talk to Clarke.

Lexa had not been looking forward to the argument they were sure to have over this, but she also knew that they couldn’t move forward if they didn’t talk about everything that had unreservedly bottled up between them. She didn’t want to lose Clarke, not over this, not over anything else for the matter. She loved Clarke and she knew Clarke loved her too. Their problem was more of an adjustment in their relationship. They needed to talk to try and solve this issue, but as usual, duty calls and she must answer. Always.

Clarke was left in the same place, watching as Lexa walked away from her to go execute her Commander duties and it reminded the blonde so much of when the older girl did that in the door of the Mountain, so much that her heart began to hurt just by the memory of Lexa leaving her and Clarke wanted nothing more than to just go after her fiancée and stop her. To tell her to screw her generals, that there was nothing more important to the two of them and their relationship, but she knew that Lexa had duties and that she couldn’t put them on hold just like that. Clarke needed to be patient, but right now that was proving not to be so easy.

“She is hurt,” Clarke heard a voice from behind her speak breaking the deafening silence Lexa had left her in and the blonde spun around, considerably fast to see Anya standing there.

“Anya, I’m sorry. I didn’t hear you approach. You scared me,” Clarke said clutching her chest as she tried to regulate her heartbeats as the woman only nodded her head in acknowledgement.

“Would you mind coming to my house so we can talk a little? I don’t think this is an appropriate place to discuss the subject,” Anya said to her and Clarke was shocked.

“You have a house?” She couldn’t help but ask. Truthfully, she hadn’t known anything about Anya except that Lexa had been her second and that she was a Trikru general. She had never bothered asking about the woman who so clearly was important to her girlfriend and she shook her head. The more she started to think about her shortcomings, the more she found she had them in the first place. She was really a shitty friend, a shitty girlfriend.

Anya couldn’t help but chuckle in response to her question. “Yes, I do have a house. Did you think I sleep on the streets? Sky People,” Anya scoffed and shook her head before she continued, “So, will you come or not?” Anya said to her and she nodded.

“Yes, sure. I’ll come,” Clarke said to the older woman as Anya simply turned around and started walking quite fast, leaving Clarke to run a little to catch up with her. “I didn’t think you sleep on the streets. I just hadn’t pictured that your people actually slept, like at all,” Clarke said to her sincerely and Anya chuckled.

“Is that how your people view us?” Anya asked her curiously and Clarke shrugged her shoulders. She didn’t know if it was all of them, but it had certainly been one of her first impressions of them.

“I don’t know. It’s just like you are above such human things such as sleep, hunger, tiredness, you know? I don’t mean to offend anyone, by the way,” Clarke said to her and Anya nodded.

“You haven’t yet, which is good, but I will choose to take what you said as a compliment though I assure you, we are as human as everyone else,” Anya said as she stopped in front of a house that Clarke judged to be hers. Anya opened the door and got inside before making way for Clarke to get in and the blonde did.

It was quite cozy and surprisingly big considering that it suffered a mass destruction with the bombs. Anya led her to her living room where there were chairs and Anya motioned for her to sit down in one of them and Clarke did as she was told. “Want water, juice, some ale?” Anya offered with a pointed glare and Clarke chuckled a bit.

“Water will do just fine, thank you,” She answered politely, and Anya nodded before she went to the kitchen and got them two cups and a jug of water and brought to the table serving one cup to Clarke and another to herself.

“So, you and Lexa.” Anya said leaving the sentence hang in the air and Clarke looked at her.

“You know then?” She asked her although she had a pretty good idea that Lexa’s closest generals knew already. The older woman simply scoffed.

“She couldn’t hide it from me if she wanted to,” Anya said and Clarke believed in that after all, Anya had been Lexa’s second and from the way Lexa reacted when Clarke had presented one of Anya’s braids to her, she could instantly tell that the two women had been very close.

“Did she tell you about our fight and what happened this last couple of days between us?” Clarke asked her worriedly and Anya nodded.

“Last night when she came to have dinner, yes she did.” Anya answered her question and now Clarke was feeling nervous.

“And what did she say to you about it?” Clarke asked her, trying to get a read on what she should expect of Lexa when they do get a chance to talk but she doubted that the woman in front of her would tell her anything and she was right.

“That it is something only she can tell you,” Anya replied to her and Clarke sighed before the warrior continued, “But I will tell you what I think about it. I believe that you care for her. That much is obvious for anyone to see. It is written all over your face when you look at her and it was painfully obvious when she was fighting those idiots how worried you were for her. So, I believe that she is someone special to you, someone you care deeply about, I really do Clarke,” Anya said to her and Clarke nodded her head motioning for her to continue.

“She is, but she is also so much more than that. She is the love of my life. I have no doubt about that,” Clarke said to her sincerely and with certainty in her voice. Anya nodded her head.

“I believe you. I am not questioning your feelings for her, but I do want to know what is it that you feel for this boy. Is he only your friend or something more than that and you just don’t want to admit it to her, to yourself, to everyone?” Anya asked her and Clarke sighed.

“I will tell you the same thing I told my friends when they told me about this notion people has about us. Bellamy is family. He is like an over protective big brother to me and that is that. There are no romantic feelings between us. I don’t and have never felt anything remotely romantic towards him.” Clarke said honestly and with such firmness to not leave any doubt in Anya’s mind of how sure she was of her answer and how true it was before she continued.

“Surprisingly enough, the whole misunderstanding happened because Lexa and I had a fight and I needed some space and time to think so I went back to my people’s camp and Bellamy offered to hear my rant about her and about what we fought about since he is one of the people of my friends who knows about us and in return, he told me about this grounder girl he met inside the Mountain and that he was interested in her. I believe you know her, Echo. I think she is from the Ice Nation.” Clarke said and Anya nodded.

“She is their new general.” Anya answered and Clarke nodded.

“So, we were talking about the girls we liked and a few of our other friends joined us and we went on drinking, when it was late in the night, we were all so wasted, one of us had even passed out and had to be carried. I was helping Bellamy walk and my room was closer to where we were than his, so I let him crash with me. He fell asleep on my bed and I slept on the couch. Nothing ever happened between us and nothing ever will. He is just a friend. She is my fiancée for Christ’s sake,

I just wished she would talk to me so that I could explain it to her. I wanted to come here as soon as I found out she had left the Mountain but my friend told me that she said that it was best if I didn’t come, that she needed space and to only come today and so I did, I respected her wishes but now I regret that I didn’t come here anyway. Maybe now, we wouldn’t be like this,” Clarke said as tears formed in her eyes, “I just want things to be okay between us again.”

“I believe you,” Anya said honestly and Clarke looked at her in shock.

“You do?”  Clarke asked her not actually believing it was true and she nodded.

“I do. You seem sincere and you seem to care for her deeply.” Anya said to her. Clarke nodded.

“I love her more than anything. She is the love of my life and the thought of losing her terrifies me,” Clarke said genuinely. Anya shook her head.

“You’re not going to lose her over this. She doesn’t believe you were unfaithful to her. However, she does worry about the space she has in your heart if it compares to the one Bellamy has as well as other issues you two may have to solve,” Anya told her. Clarke was a bit surprised with the latter and relieved for the former.

“Of course. But it doesn’t compare. The space he has in my heart is minimal compared to the one she has. I was the one who asked her to marry me, to spend the rest of her life with me, would I do that if I had any doubts about my feelings for someone else? I wouldn’t and I don’t. She needs to believe me,” Clarke replied as Anya nodded in agreement.

“If you speak to her from your heart and truthfully, she will. But there is another topic I wanted to talk to you,” Anya said cryptically and Clarke started to feel a little worried. “Her fight with those warriors. She told me you fought because you were worried and you thought she was putting herself in unnecessary danger. Is that correct?” Anya asked her and Clarke nodded.

“Yes, more or less. I was scared of something happening to her and I let my fear cloud me, the fight just escalated from there,” Clarke clarified, and the woman nodded.

“Let me tell you something you don’t seem to have registered. Lexa ascended to the position of Commander when she was 12 years old, did you know that?” Anya asked her and Clarke nodded at her, Lexa had told her in the Valley of Time.

“The night she became Commander, she was attacked in her room by people trying to kill her. Did you know that?” Anya asked. Clarke had to shake her head. She had not known that. “She was already in bed, sleeping, when a bunch of traitors killed her guards and entered her room to try to kill her. There were around 15 of them. 15 grown men, three times her size and she killed every single one of them without getting a scratch on her body,” Anya told her, and Clarke was surprised by the news. Anya continued her explanation,

“The point I am trying to make is that from day one, she was in danger and until the day she breathes her last breath, she will be in danger. There will always be someone trying to kill her, challenging her to a fight, attacking her in her sleep, trying to poison her food. She is always and will always be in danger. The peace she is fighting for is for everyone else except for her because even in peace, she will always be at war with those who oppose her, who would see her dead. What happened two days ago will happen until the day she stops being a Commander.

If you truly love her and want to be with her for the rest of your lives as you’ve said, then you must accept to always be worried for her, to always wonder if today will be the day her enemies will win, if today is the day she won’t come back to you and you can’t ever hold that against her. You can’t fight her every time she is danger because you will never stop fighting then. Lexa is the Commander, Clarke. She is the most powerful person amongst all the clans including yours. She will always be the number one target.

If you want her, you need to be prepared for the kind of life she leads, the kind of life you will have by her side. Costia was a good person and she loved Lexa very deeply until the end but she was not cut out to be the Commander’s wife, to face the danger, the obstacles, the fights, the wars by Lexa’s side and my point in telling you all of this is to ask. Are you? Are you prepared for the world she lives in, the world she commands? Is everything that comes with her what you truly want for the rest of your life? Because if it isn’t, break this off before you both get hurt.” Anya said and gave sometime for what she said to sink in before she continued.

“But if it is, then show it to her. Don’t berate her for her work, help her do it. She has told me you are her equal and that she doesn’t want to change that. She wants you to rule by her side, with her but to do that, she needs to trust that you won’t be running back to your people every time things get hard or that you have a fight like a scared little girl. She doesn’t need that. She needs a woman that is strong enough to handle her and her work. She needs a woman that she can count on if she needs to.” The general said shocking Clarke to the core before she delivered the final blow.

“She needs a Kwin to help her rule the Coalition. Can you be that person or not?”


	37. A new dawn

Back in the Mountain, after the Sky People finally left, there was only a few of the grounders there but they were all staying outside to guard them and to avoid any attack, as the Commander ordered them too. Jasper and Maya after saying goodbye to Clarke joined the others in level 5 and went toward the table reserved for the President and the high ranking members of their people and Maya finally took her place there with Jasper by his side along with the twins, she sat down and started to eat along with her people.

It felt so weird for her to be the one in charge of everyone in this place. Maya felt like she was not ready for it, she knew that she wasn’t but she remembered what Jasper had told her about Clarke never being leader before too but she was called to do it and she faced it all head on and Maya had to do the same for her people. Especially now that they have been defeated by the grounders, finally received the bone marrow transfusion and will be ready to finally walk outside the next day, according to the instruction of Doctor Griffin.

All these people, the children were looking out for her to guide them to this new era for their people, one where they will not be confined in this tomb anymore, where they will be able to breathe in fresh air and play on the grass, see the river and be a part of the nature, live in it and she needed to prepare herself for everything that was coming their way but she knew deep down that she would do her best to be the President her people needed, while making sure to not make the same mistakes the previous ones did.

Once she had finished eating, Maya leaned back against the chair and just looked over everyone that was sitting on the tables, the children who were playing around and a soft smile played it out on her face. She had been so worried that they wouldn’t survive the war and though that didn’t stop her from helping the grounders and the Sky people, it still made her afraid of what it would happen to them. Would they be executed because of the crimes committed by those that were in charge? Thankfully, no. They were not.

Once she noticed that most of them were finishing eating too, Maya decided to speak to them. So she stood up from her chair and clinked her glass to get their attention and she did. Everyone stopped their conversation to pay attention to her. “Sorry to disturb but there was something I would like to say,” She said and noticed that although she still felt nervous, she wasn’t as nervous as the first time and for that she had to thank Jasper for the support he gave her ever since the beginning. He really was the greatest guy she had ever met.

“As you well know, with the collaboration of the Sky People we have received the bone marrow transfusion that will make it possible for us to walk outside for the first time in almost a hundred years.” Maya said to them and she saw them congratulating each other for that before they looked back at her again, “I want to take this moment of happiness and ask you to see how wrong our ways used to be,” She said to them and became serious as did everyone else. She knew she needed to have this talk to them.

“For years and years, generation after generation, our people were conniving with the cruel and immoral things our leaders had deemed necessary to be done for our people’s survival. We just followed them and let horrible things be done to innocent people. I understand that in the end, no one wants to die but there is always a better way to do things. We always have a choice. I had a choice between helping the outsiders stop the Wallace’s once and for all or let everyone of the Sky people inside this place die so we could live and I made my choice. I chose to do better, to be better. I chose to do the right thing and I do not regret it.

Cage and his father would have rather sacrificed us in a pointless war than to try to work it out with them a solution that benefitted all of us. He would have rather see us die than to surrender. He almost succeeded in wiping us out because of his greed and selfishness. But luckily for us, he didn’t succeed and he didn’t sacrifice us. So, I beg you to see that their ways had to stay in the past where they belong. Today, we have the bone marrow we needed.

Tomorrow, we will be able to walk outside freely, we will be able to make a home for us outside and it will all be because we worked with the outsiders instead of against them. Because we accepted their help without forcing them to die for u to get it. Because we were better than those that came before us. Because we chose to do the right thing. And no, we will reap the rewards for that so I will ask you that in this new time in our people’s history, that we leave the past behind.” Maya said before she took a deep breath and continued,

“But more than anything, that we forge a new path for us, a path that is not filled with crimes, with inhumanity, with hatred, with cruelty but instead with unity, with solidarity, with love and with hope and that together, as it should be, that we can become better examples for the new generations,” Maya said looking at the children as did everyone else, “and for the generations yet to come. That they can look at us and see good people, that they can look at us and feel proud of what we have done for our people and that they can do even better.

I ask of you to help me in this new journey that is uncertain and right ahead of us. I am still finding my way throughout this new role I have and I know that I will not be a perfect leader, such a thing is not possible but in have faith in all of you to be there to help me when I fail as I will be there for you anytime you may need me and I know that this is the way that our people will not only survive but we will thrive and I cannot wait to take on this new chapter of our history with all of you. Thank you.” She said to them and raised her glass and they did it too.

Everyone cheered on her speech and applauded her as she smiled at them and shook her head before she sat back down and they went back to their own conversations, mostly talking about her. “That was a very inspirational speech, Madam President,” Scott said from beside her and he looked at him still unused to the new title.

“Wow, that is the first time someone has called me that. It feels so weird to hear it said out loud,” Maya said chuckling a bit, and he nodded smiling.

“That is because after this speech, you have finally earned the position you were put on. Today, you finally took charge of your new role and of the people and you not only inspired them but got them to trust you. Now, you can truly consider yourself our leader as now they consider you Madam President,” He said to her and she nodded smiling at him.

“Thank you for your words and your advices, Scott. You have been of great help.” She told him and he nodded before focusing back on his food as Maya looked at Jasper.

“That was out of the park,” He said to her and she chuckled as he held her hand.

“Do you really think so?” She asked him and he looked at her seriously.

“Are you kidding me? You were born for this and that speech would probably have convinced even Cage that he was wrong for doing those things to the grounders and my people,” He said to her and she shook her head.

“I just hope I can be the leader they need,” Maya said to him honestly and he looked at her squeezing her hand in support.

“You already are,” He said and gave her a kiss on the cheek which made her blush before they continued with their breakfast.

Once breakfast was done, Maya called Scott, Meagan, Jasper and three more people to the President’s office. “Jasper, I’m not sure you know them, but this is Carol Braxton, she is an engineer and architect,” Maya said pointing to a ginger woman who seemed to be in her early 30’s who nodded at him.

“Attempted architect, Madam President,” Carol corrected Maya.

“And this two are Brandon Davies and Isabella Carlisle. They are friends of my father and people I trust,” She said as she introduced to him the new people.

Brandon was a brunette, tall, strong built man in his early 40’s who was kind of scary and Isabella was also a tall, dark skinned woman in her late 30’s who was much more pleasant than the guys. “Your father was an honorable man. We are very sorry for your loss.” Isabella spoke.

“Yes, he was. My parents died doing the right thing and I intend to honor their sacrifices by turning our people away from the darkness people like Cage installed on us but to do so I will need your help,” Maya said to them and they nodded.

“Anything you need, tell us.” Brandon said to her and she nodded.

“As you know we no longer have weapons, it was agreed that half of it would be given to the Skye People as a reward for the part they played in the battle and the rest would be destroyed as well as our missiles and other mass destruction weapons, which I am in agreement with. Those weapons were too dangerous to be in anyone’s control, but it means that we have no way of defending ourselves.

However, the Commander has agreed to send warriors of her own to teach us how to fight with the weapons they use. Sword, knives, spears, bow and arrows. She never meant for us to unarmed, she just didn’t want us to have those kinds of weapons anymore and by using their style of weapons we will be showing that we are willing to change our ways and step as further away from the image of monsters that they have of us as possible. Maybe even to start on our way to a future alliance with them.” Maya explained to them and they looked at each other.

“That is quite merciful of the Commander, especially after everything our people did to hers.” Isabella said out loud abit surprised by the information as the others nodded their heads.

“The Commander has proven to be quite open to negotiation and to mercy so we are working to do what is best for our people and what can appease them as well. Maya has been doing a great job at working out win-win situations for everyone involved,” Meagan said to them and Maya gave her a small smile.

“Anyways, the help I need from you and for both of you together to rebuilt the Guard with these new weapons.” She said to them. “You were once part of the old Guard but got out because you refused to be a part of what they did but now, that is over and will never happen again which is why I need your help on this. I would trust no one else with this.” Maya explained to them as they looked at each other and nodded at her.

“We would be more than willing to be of service if it is for you so what exactly do you want us to do?” Isabella asked her, ready to get to work.

“I want you to make a selection of the new Guard cadets so we can start their training as fast as we possibly can.” Maya said to them. “The warriors staying outside will be the teachers and so the faster you can gather a group, the faster you can start. Tomorrow, we will be walking out of the Mountain for the first time but the day after that, I want you all outside learning the basics. It is not good to be without protection for too long and the Commander will not keep her warriors here forever,” Maya explained the situation to them.

“Very well, if you want, we could start right now. Gather those who would be interested in being in the Guard and also those who are willing to work with the grounders,” Brandon said to her and she nodded.

“But please, make sure that they know we are not learning to fight to go to war against the grounders even because we are beginners and they would crush us and we are not seeking revenge in any way. We are working with them and we will continue to do it so please make sure they know they are learning to fight protect their people, not to play heroes,” Scott said to them and the two friends nodded.

“We understand perfectly,” Brandon said to him and Maya nodded standing up as did them.

“Then, I am glad to welcome you as part of my council in the matter of Security,” She extended her hand, shaking theirs.

“It will be our pleasure to serve you, Madam President.” Isabella said and Brandon agreed.

“The pleasure is all mine. Thank you. You can leave.” She said to them and they nodded before getting out of the room as she sat back down to face Carol.

“I think I would be safe assuming that you have a job for me as well, Madam President,” Carol said seriously and Maya nodded.

“Yes, since the Mountain is a territory unclaimed by any of her people, the Commander has conceded the territory to us, however the Mountain will be off limits. It will stay closed off unless she says otherwise,” Maya explained to her and she nodded.

“So, you want me to make a project to build houses for us to live outside the Mountain.” Carol said sounding more excited now and Maya nodded.

“Yes, she had offered a few of her people to help it build faster and I have accepted but it would be good for us to have something going by ourselves so that we don’t want to show that we are only receiving help, but that we can contribute with good work as well,” Meagan spoke up and Carol nodded.

“I completely agree with you. Besides, we will know what will work best for us,” Carol explained to her and the others nodded.

“Exactly so can you do it?” Maya asked her and she nodded.

“Actually, ma’am, I already have the project ready,” Carol said and they all seemed surprised.

“What do you mean? Did Cage asked you to do it?” Scott asked her and she shook her head.

“No, I despised the man and couldn’t be happier that he is gone, probably dead which is what he deserved,” She said and they were more relieved because if they had one thing in common was that they all despised Cage and his actions.

“No, the project is one I worked off on my own, well almost. I had help from my best friends but it was just a hobby we had. A dream.” Carol said to them as she continued,

“We were just 20 something when we started making sketches of what a camp would look like if we could live outside the Mountain. Houses and more, we even made a community church for all religions. We had hoped that this could be our reality one day and it seems it is now. If you could give me twenty minutes, I can bring the sketches to you to have a look, ma’am.” Carol said and Maya nodded.

“Please. I would very much like to see them,” She said in curious and excited tone and the woman stood up before leaving the room.

“This is what I call a pleasant surprise,” Jasper said to them and they nodded and as promised in under 20 minutes, Carol returned with the papers and put them all on the table as may and the others took a look at it and was very much surprised by what they were seeing.

“So what do you think?” Carol asked them and Maya looked at the others who nodded at her before she looked back at the woman and smiled at her.

“It seems that you have a camp to start building, Ms. Carlisle. Take today to gather all that we have and you think will be needed for it because the day after tomorrow, we will start building,” Maya said and everyone smiled at it.


	38. Getting to know you

After the flames started burning their people started leaving the place and many of them, mainly Finn questioned why Clarke was staying until the end and he had received an answer from Kane that entailed that Clarke felt responsible for their fate and needed to see it through and Finn accepted that answer choosing to leave with the rest, instead of hogging around waiting for Clarke but Bellamy was one of the few people who knew exactly why the blonde was staying behind. She wanted to talk to her girlfriend about the misunderstanding that had happened between the three of them.

He was really hoping that Clarke could fix it but if it was necessary to help her, he would be more than willing to talk to the Commander himself to explain that nothing happened between him and Clarke and nothing ever would. She was like his best friend and most of the times, his consciousness pointing him to the right direction when his moral compass seemed to be a little off because of his own selfishness but there was nothing more to their relationship than that. Clarke loved Lexa, it was clear to see and he was feeling things for Echo as well, so the girls’ relationship couldn’t end because of a stupid misunderstanding.

He felt very bad and guilty because if he hadn’t drunk so much, he wouldn’t have crashed with her and none of it would have happened. He would really, really, really hate to be the reason why they broke up. No, he wouldn’t let that happen to Clarke and the Commander didn’t seem that bad so he made a decision that if Clarke couldn’t fix it, he would. She saved his ass so many times he already lost count, she helped him even more and taught him so much about the man he could be that he owed her to reattribute the favor and help her this time around and he swore he would.

But he would let her do it first, only if she failed, then he would step in and try to help in any way he possibly could. He would even let the Commander punch him if it was what it took to help her make up with Clarke but that was a thought for later. Right now, he was walking along with the others going back to the houses they were staying in for the day when he heard his name being called. “Bellamy,” He turned around to see Echo calling for him, waving at him as she made her way towards him. He was shocked to see her, so he walked to meet her halfway.

“Echo,” He called for her and she gave him a small smirk.

“Seems that we are always meeting each other now at these kind of events,” Echo said to him and he smiled at her nodding.

“Are you complaining about it?” He asked her and she shrugged her shoulders with a small smirk on her face.

“That is something that remains to be seem. You’re here for the celebration?” She asked him and he nodded his head in agreement.

“Yes, given the role my people played in the Mountain’s defeat, the Commander thought to invite us for the celebration. What about you?” He asked her, curiosuly.

“The Commander selected me to be the new Azgeda General so that means I’m staying longer and then I will be travelling between Polis and Azgeda.” She told him and he was surprised.

“So, you will be closer to these areas then,” He said to her, not quite sure why the idea of her closeness made him so happy as it did. She smirked, deciding to play with him a little.

“Why the interest if I will be closer or not?” She asked him as he became a bit shy.

“I don’t know. I just would like to get to know you better. You seem like a nice person,” He said to her shrugging his shoulder, while clutching the back of his neck and she smiled.

“Well, then if that is what you are so interested in, what you would like to know about me?” She asked him genuinely and he shrugged, smiling at her.

“I don’t know what to ask really and even more so, I don’t know if you would tell me the truth if I did,” He said to her sincerely and she chuckled a little.

“You’re not as stupid as you look, Sky Boy. That’s good. I would hate to waste my time on you if you were that stupid,” She said to him and he smirked.

“And you’re not as hostile as the first time you spit on my face. That is also very good. I would hate to waste my time if you were still like that,” He replied right back at her.

“Why don’t we go somewhere more private to talk? The middle of the village seems impractical, don’t you think?” She told him and he nodded.

“Where can we go?” He asked her. He knew a bit of these woods but he trusted she knew it better than he did so he decided to let her lead them.

“There is a nice place near the river that goes around this village, it’s very close to here. Shall we go there?” She said and he nodded as he followed her. Finn and the others knew who he was with, there was no reason to be worried, so he followed her and within twenty minutes, they came to the river and sat down close to it. “How was it going back home?” She asked him and he took a deep breath.

“It was very nice, you know? Being able to just hang around with my friends, the ones who were trapped inside the Mountain, talk and joke around, get drunk without worry of an attack or anything like that. What about you? Feeling anxious to go home? Your clan is the Ice Nation, so I judge is further up north than here, isn’t it?” He asked her but she shrugged.

“I was and it is, very much further north than here. I was ready to go back with the others, but some things came up that makes me doubt if it is the best thing for me or my people that I return home,” She said to him and he frowned at her.

“Are you in danger or anything? I can help you if you would like,” He said to her sincerely and she looked at him, seeing the truth in his words.

She smiled and shook her head. “No, I just learned a few truths about someone I trusted blindly, that apparently has lied to me too many times and it is making me doubt if they are worthy my loyalty or not,” She said to him and he nodded, trying to understand her situation.

“But whatever they did that you found out, did they have a good reason for it or was it just out of selfishness?” He asked her, trying not to be intrusive and she thought about her answer.

“Apparently, their reason was nothing but pure selfishness,” She told him.

“Well, I don’t know about this person or what you found out about them but if they are selfish enough to make you question your loyalty to them, it probably means they didn’t deserve it in the first place,” He said to her sincerely.

“Maybe but it is not an easy decision to make. All my life I idolized them and to find out they are just selfish and egomaniac is not what I was expecting,” She said to him and he nodded.

“Probably not but someone made me realize that we need to look at a person’s actions more than their words because sometimes words mean nothing and an action can speak louder. If this person says pretty things and they are nothing but lies when you look at their action, then the right choice is to rethink your loyalty to them,” He said to her and she nodded at his words, knowing there was some truth in what he was telling her.

“So, is anyone worthy of your loyalty?” She asked him and he nodded.

“Yes, I’m loyal to my people even if at times I’m not loyal to our leaders.” He said to her honestly, shrugging his shoulders and she chuckled. “I see,” She said to him.

He continued, “But in particular I am loyal to my sister, most of all. She is everything to me. Kane, he is one of the council members we have and like a father figure to me and Clarke, our unofficial but very official leader. They are all worthy my loyalty. What about you?” He asked her as she looked at him.

“I think I am starting to agree with your first statement. I’m loyal to my people.” She said to him and he understood what she was saying, “And I have a friend who is in a high-ranking position, he is worthy of my loyalty,” She said to him and he nodded.

“What about your family? Have any parents? Siblings? Relatives?” He asked her, but she looked ahead to the river and shook her head.

“No, they all died when I was little. I was raised by my aunt, but she died about 7 years ago.” She told him.

He took courage and moved his hand to hold hers before speaking, “I’m so sorry for your loss.”

His actions took her by surprise, especially how much of a pleasant surprise it was. She hadn’t imagined how good it could feel to have him holding her hand, to be touching him in anyway and although every survival instinct in her told her to back away to protect herself, that any kind of feeling was a weakness that needed to be eliminated immediately and with efficiency, something greater told her that she could trust him, that he wasn’t trying to exploit her, so she did nothing but let him hold her hand as they sat side by side while facing the river.

“Thank you. I don’t think anyone ever said that to me besides my one friend,” She told him sincerely and he nodded.

“Well, I really am sorry,” He said as he let go of her hand and she nodded at him trying to focus back on their conversation, as they both silently ignored how much they missed the contact.

“What about you? Anyone besides your sister?” She asked him.

“No, my mom died a year ago and my father, I don’t even know who he is. Probably some nobody she slept with,” He said shrugging looking down and it was her turn to squeeze his knee, glad to be in contact with him again.

“I’m sorry for your loss as well,” She said to him sincerely as well, which was something that definitely surprised her too. He nodded giving her a small smile.

“Thank you,” He said to her before he shook his head and changed topic, “Do you usually greet every guy by spitting on his face?” He asked her and she chuckled at him before nodding.

“Especially Sky People.” She said joking and they laughed, “Thank you for coming back for me. You didn’t have to, but you did it anyway. Thank you,” She told him, and he gave her a nod.

“I promised you I would,” He told her, and she looked ahead.

“You will find that some people find it so easy to break such promises,” She said to him, as if she was remembering something and he shook his head before grabbing her hand and grounding her back on the present.

“Not me. I don’t make promises if I don’t meant them or if I don’t plan on keeping them,” He said to her firmly, willing her to believe that he was different than those people she had met as she looked right at him, in his eyes before she nodded.

“Somehow, I believe you Bellamy kom Skaikru,” She said to him and he nodded.

“I am glad to hear that, Echo kom Azgeda,” He said to her and there were in silence for a while just listening to the nature before she spoke.

“What did you do back in space?” She asked him and he chuckled.

“Besides hide my sister under the floor to prevent her from being locked up and my mother executed? I was training to be a part of the Guard.” He told her and she frowned.

“Why did you have to do that? Hide your sister, I mean,” She asked him curiously.

“On the Ark, they needed to control the population, so the couples were only allowed to have one child, having two was a crime. So, when she got pregnant a second time, my mother hid her pregnancy from everyone and we had to hide Octavia,” He told her.

“What about twins? What would have happened in that situation?” She asked him, trying to understand how that system worked.

“It was extremely rare to happen, but I believe in those cases, they let the couple keep the one of the children. It’s been a long time since there has been a twin, it was before I was even born and there hasn’t been another set of twins since. What about you? What did you do before I found you in the Mountain?” He asked her and she tensed a little, not knowing if she should say it or not but since it was already known, she decided to trust him.

“I was a spy for the Ice Queen,” She told him and he nodded.

“Was that why you got captured? You were spying on someone?” he asked her curious to know more about her and her work. She nodded.

“I was spying on you.” She told him and he was surprised by it as she continued, “No one missed the fall of your ship, the first one. So, the Queen asked me to come and check you out, your camp, perhaps judge if you would be good allies but before I could watch too much, they captured me and took me to that chamber,” She told him and she expected him to pull away, but he didn’t even though she could see he was shocked.

“What did you see in camp? You didn’t recognize me when we were in the cages so you didn’t see me in camp before you were captured. When did you get there?” He asked her and his voice didn’t change, he just seemed curious. “I got there about three days after you fell down. And only managed to watch your camp for about half a day before I had to go away because the Mountain Men released the acid fog, that was when I ended up getting captured.” She told him and he remembered.

“Oh, that day I was out hunting,” He told her.

“Maybe things were meant to be the way they did and we were only supposed to meet inside the Mountain,” She said to him and he looked at her.

“Do you really believe that? Destiny, fate?” He asked her and she nodded at him.

“Yeah, I do. How are the chances that amongst all of us inside that place that you would be put in the cage next to mine? One in a million but it happened and here we are now, together. That has to mean something, don’t you think?” She told him and he nodded as he raised his hand and caressed her face.

“Yeah, I’m starting to think so,” He said staring at her and he moved forward and closed the distance between them as they kissed, slowly as if testing what it feels like and when it felt extremely good, it became more intense before she pulled back.

“Wow, you’re not so bad at this as I thought,” She told him, and he smiled chuckling.

“That is good to hear,” He said to her and she chuckled along with him before she pulled him back for another kiss, even more intense before she leaned back pulling him on top of her as he held his weight with his hand.

It felt too good to stop so they didn’t but stayed kissing like that before Echo smirked in the kiss before flipping them over so she was straddling him and he chuckled before they continued kissing, this time, with his hand free, he was able to touch her more freely and she was not complaining but she had other ideas on her head. She pulled back and looked at him. “We should be getting back, soon enough the party will be starting,” She said before she got up and straightened her clothes as he looked at her.

“First, you spit on my face and now you’re really going to tease me like this? You’re evil.” He said to her and she smirked.

“Glad you learned that lesson already.” She said and he chuckled, “Let’s go, Sky Boy. We have a party to go too and maybe, if you’re a good boy, I will let you finish what you started.” She said smirking at him before she started walking and with that incentive, Bellamy quickly got up from the ground, grabbing his jacket before following after her as they walked back to the village laughing and flirting a little, both excited for what this party would bring.


	39. The Party I

Clarke stayed with Anya and Tori in their house for a long while talking about a number of things, most of them obviously related to Lexa since she was the thing that tied them all together. Anya told her a few stories from when Lexa was her second as well as some advice from Tori on how to be the wife of someone that is constantly in danger or fighting and it was quite a nice afternoon, in Clarke’s opinion. She was feeling a lot better and a lot more confident that she could truly do this, all of what it required of her to be with someone in a position like Lexa’s, which she hoped would help her when they finally got to talk.

She had not known anyone named Tori back on the other timeline, had not even known that Anya had a wife but she was glad that this time around they were able to get to know each other and she was extremely happy that they were able to get along given how close their lover are to one another. Clarke judged that Tori was someone very important to Lexa and she knew how much it would mean to her to know Clarke was making an effort to befriend the people she cares about and that care about her.

And she would do it with everyone, except Titus. That man has in no way any chance of having Clarke as a friend. She understood his reasons for trying to get rid of her but she would never forgive him for shooting Lexa and killing her once. He should have chosen different, he should have chosen to trust her, trust the wonderful Commander she truly is and he should have left them alone but instead he thought that he could make that choice for her, that could intervene in Lexa’s life up to that level and Clarke could not forget or forgive the consequences of his choice or what was taken from her because of him.

She could befriend Anya, Tori, Gustus, Indra and Gaia, even Luna, but she could not tolerate that man and that would be the hardest part for her once she got to Polis, having to live in the same place as that man, having to see his face by Lexa’s side every day while pretending that he hasn’t the capacity to betray his Commander or even kill her. She hated the thought of that and she was happy to know that both Anya and Tori disliked the man as well, even if not for the same reasons as she did. But knowing that they were allies in her dislike for him as well as supporters to try and get him far away from Lexa, it was something to be grateful for.

Once they were done talking, Clarke decided to go back to their houses and get ready for the party that was set to happen in just a few hours so once she said goodbye to Tori, Anya offered to walk her back to the house she was in before she lost herself. When they got there, Clarke offered her arm for Anya who took it in a tight hold. “Thank you for the conversation. I see a lot of things clearer now,” Clarke said to the woman who nodded.

“That is very good. We both care about her and if you are the way for her to be happy, I’m more than willing to help you,” Anya said to her before pulling back and stepping back, “The party will start in about one hour or so. We can all use the bathrooms in the houses, there is running water, I’m sure your people will be happy with that.” Clarke smiled before nodding.

“Thank you very much for everything,” Clarke said to her and Anya only shook her head.

“I didn’t do anything. She did. Thank her,” Anya advised her as Clarke nodded understanding.

“I will but thanks for your help anyway,” She replied and the woman nodded before she turned around and walked away as Clarke went on the two houses to tell them the news. As Anya predicted, everyone was very happy to have a real bath, especially the girls.

“Okay. We will do in this way. First will be Charlotte, then Harper, Monroe and Jessica. Raven and I will share,” Clarke warned them who nodded as Charlotte went to the bathroom first.

“Desperate to see me in my birthday suit, are we Griffin?” Raven said smirking as they sat down together on the couch to wait for the girls to finish.

“You wish, Reyes. No, I want for us to minimize the time spent in there but since you and I are the only ones comfortable with bathing together, we get shotgun on that one,” Clarke explained to her and Raven nodded.

“So were you talking with future Mrs. Griffin?” Raven asked lowly for the others not to hear their conversation, Clarke shook her head.

“No, she was called for a meeting when we were about to start talking. I was with Anya in her house,” Clarke said to her and Raven was surprised.

“Anya has a house?” She asked surprised and Clarke nodded.

“And a wife named Tori,” Clarke said and Raven was throughout shocked.

“Bitch what? How? Since when?” Raven asked her with widened eyes and Clarke chuckled.

“She has wife, they fell in love and got married 14 years ago,” Clarke said to her.

“Which world were we living in? Tell me, please because we missed all of that,” Raven said and Clarke nodded. She had the same thought asking herself how she hadn’t known about any of that before.

“Yeah, I’m thinking this wife died and we didn’t meet her giving what happened to Anya but yeah, anyway, I was with them and we were talking about her and they opened my eyes about a lot of things, like you and John did when we talked yesterday. Now, there are things I understand better than I did before which is very good,” Clarke explained and Raven nodded.

“Yes, it is,” She agreed. So many things had changed simply because they had tried seeing things from a different perspective that it continued to shock them how different things could have been if they had done this from the beginning.

“Ah, almost forgot, before this whole mess, I had talked to Lexa and she had said that it was not so difficult to get Luna to come to Polis so pretty soon, you’re gonna have your chance with your girl,” Clarke told her and Raven smiled.

“Did she say anything about the boyfriend?” Raven asked curious to know more about the older girl’s life here and in this time. Clarke shook her head.

“She wasn’t much familiar with the guy but from what she told me, it is not as serious as we believed it to be, so your chances just went higher than they were before, bitch.” Clarke explained and Raven smiled.

“Thanks, I really needed to hear that. Have some hope, you know?” Raven told her.

“Anytime you need, Ray, anytime,” Clarke said, nodding her head at her best friend.

“Oh, a little heads up. Finn is still over-protective and worried about you, much like he was in the OGTL in the dropship but not as obsessed as he was before your return. Know what I mean?” Raven said and Clarke nodded sighing, “He kept asking why you were staying by the fire and was ready to stay and wait for you but Kane created a story that you felt responsible for their fate that was why you stayed so he believed it and left but I think that the sooner you tell him with all the letters that you are in love with you know who, the better.”

“I thought he had understood and accepted that there was zero chance of me and him getting together.” Clarke said to her and Raven shrugged.

“He has a thick skull, that one and sometimes it’s hard to get him to accept things that are not the way he wants them to be,” Raven told her and Clarke nodded as they continued talking until Monroe came to warn them that it was their turn on the bathroom. Clarke and Raven stood up and went to the bathroom. Lexa had supplied all of them with towels so once they got rid of their clothes, they went inside together.

“Wow, I missed this from the island,” Raven said as she felt the water hitting her and Clarke smiled before she went under the shower and they cleaned themselves up with the soap they had and washed their hair throughout before finishing it and getting dry and going to their separate bedroom. They have all brought a new pair of clothes, just in case and it worked. The girls who had finished were together in the living room so Clarke had the room for herself and got ready, wearing a light green shirt, black pants, boots and a jeans jacket before doing her hair, picking a few strand of hair and doing her usual hairstyle, with half of it in braid.

She put on some perfume she found in the room and liked it before she walked outside, meeting the girls there, including Raven as they sat down and waited for someone to come and get them for the party. Soon enough, there was a knock on the door and they all walked towards it and Clarke was the one who opened it revealing a warrior. “Celebration is starting. Heda will make a speech. Come along,” He told her and she nodded.

“Come on girls. It’s time to go,” She called out to them as she stepped outside as did the rest before she closed the door and noticed that the rest of their people were waiting for them.

The warrior led them to the center of the village which was a pretty large place where there were table filled with food and drinks as well as music being played which surprised some of them but not others like Clarke and Kane.

“This is absolutely amazing. I don’t think I could have ever imagined something like this even if I had tried,” Jake said as he looked around, amazed by everything he was seeing. They nodded.

“Yes, it really is amazing,” Clarke said as she searched around before she finally found Lexa amongst the crowd, she was talking with Anya and Tori and had a drink in her hand. Clarke was able to see what the girl was wearing.

She appeared to not to be wearing her usual armor coat instead she was wearing a dark grey shirt, along with her black pants, high boots, a black jacket with her shoulder pad and red stash symbolizing her title and her hair was braided differently too. But Clarke couldn’t see it very well, she could just see that it was different and Lexa had her headpiece on but not the war paint. She looked absolutely stunning, beautiful and Clarke hoped that they could talk soon, she hated this distance between them, both emotionally and physically.

“Hey Clarke, check this out.” Raven called her attention before Clarke looked at where the girl was motioning too and saw Bellamy smiling with Echo, the two of them looking quite cozy.

“When did that happen?” Clarke asked smiling, happy that her friend seemed to be getting along with the Ice warrior. It was impossible to deny that had always been something there between those two and if there was one person who could help Echo become a better person, she knew it would be Bellamy. Murphy joined them along with Wells and Jessica.

“Apparently, it happened this afternoon when we were leaving. She called for him and he only came back hours later, with a stupid grin on his face,” Wells said to her and she chuckled.

“Well, Blake boy is getting it tonight. That’s for sure,” Murphy said chuckling and they all laughed. Suddenly the music stopped, and everyone turned to the front. Clarke judged Lexa was about to make her speech and she was right. The older girl stepped on s stop so she could get higher as she looked at everyone. “Thank you for your attention and I was asked to say a few words and here we are,” The Commander said as everyone smiled before she continued.

“Not too long ago, we all believed that this day would never come, the day in which we would be celebrating the defeat of our biggest enemy and threat, the Mountain Men. Yet, here we are,” She said to them in English as her warriors translated to those who didn’t understand and when she saw their nod, she went on.

“When I first took command, it was my primary goal to unite us and defeat them and today, I can say that I achieved it both. The Coalition is strong and although we still have a few quarrels among the clans, we have been working together and in peace for the first time in our people’s history and that union was what made it possible for us to be here today celebrating this enormous and well deserved victory. So, I want you to remember this day, I want you to tell your kids and grandkids about this day.

I want you to tell them how today proved than when we work together, when we put our past differences aside and join forces how there is not an enemy we can’t defeat, who can stop us, for we are stronger together. Tomorrow it’s a new dawn for our people, tomorrow starts a new chapter of our history and it will be a brighter one than we have ever seen before. So I ask you to remember this day and what we accomplished, for I will never forget. This victory is ours. For the Coalition,” She said to them and raised her glass and the people did the same repeating the words in English and in Trigedasleng. Coalition and Kongeda.

The Sky People did the same even if they were not yet part of it but the energy the grounders were emanating contaminated them and they found themselves even saying the words in Trigedasleng and as Clarke looked around, she was happy to see this moment. This was what she dreamed off and then they all started calling for her. “HEDA! HEDA! HEDA!” Clarke looked at Lexa who was looking right back at her and Clarke only made a slight move of bowing down before raising her glass to her. Lexa only gave her a small nod and a small smile before calling for the music to start playing again and for the celebration to start.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys. I had many of you complain about the length of the drama between Clarke and Lexa and I give it to you. It took too many chapters in the story. It should have been done in fewer chapters but it wasn't. I am still learning how to write so it is still possible that I will make mistakes along the way but what's important is to learn from them and do it better next time. As for those who think the sequel is a piece of crap, it's okay if you feel that way.
> 
> I am no going to try and force anyone to like my story, you are not obligated to like the sequel since you liked the first part. You are free to feel whatever you feel about it. The only thing I do ask is that if you are going to criticize it, do it in a respectful way and if you can't, simply leave and don't bother with this story again. It's not ease to write a lengthy story, it takes time and work and sometimes we don't have it, but we try to do our best, so please, at least respect that, not just for me but for the other writers as well.
> 
> For those of you who are enjoying it, thank you for your support. It means a lot to me. When I see your positive comments about how you have enjoyed a chapter or the story in general, it fills me with the will to keep writing despite all the negative ones so please, don't stop commenting. I really appreciate it. Thank you for staying and reading the story, for being respectful and for being such amazing supporters. Thank you so much.
> 
> Unfortuantely, I cannot try to reduce the chapters because then the story I have already finished writing will have to be rearranged in so many ways that I think is best to just let it run its course. The drama will end very very soon, a few more chapters and it will be done with and for the rest of the story, there is only going to be fluff for our amazing couple so if anyone would like to skip the next few chapters until then, feel free.
> 
> Thank you for your time,  
> Kisses, kisses. Your Author.


	40. The Party II

After the music started, the Sky people started spreading out and going out to get to know a few grounders, being advised by Clarke and the others to mingle with their newest allies to make better connections but Bellamy was already with the only grounder he had wanted to see tonight and get to know better so once he got to her, he spoke, “Would you accept if I said you look beautiful or would you punch me in the face for it?” Echo smiled at him.

“What do you think I would do if you said that to me?” She asked him curiously and he shrugged his shoulder. She was an enigma to him and he wanted to figure her out.

“I don’t know, probably both. Maybe you would punch me first and then accept the compliment. Yes, that sounds more like you,” He replied and she chuckled at his answer.

“Yes, that does sound like me, but in the spirit of the party, I will move past the punch and go straight to accepting the compliment, if you did say it that is,” Echo said to him and he smiled.

“You look beautiful tonight Echo,” He said to her and she smirked at him.

“You don’t look so bad yourself Bellamy,” She said to him and he nodded.

“So how is it, being the new general of your clan? Are your warriors respecting you or are they giving you a hard time?” He asked her and she smiled at him.

“Well, they know better than to disrespect me, so they are adapting. Some are weary, I would say but that will pass soon enough,” She said to him and he nodded at her.

“I don’t doubt that. I’m sure they just need some time,” He said to her and she stared at him.

“How are you taking being in TonDC? You like it?” She asked him and he shrugged.

“It’s certainly different than what I am used to but it’s nice. What about you? Do you like it here?” He asked her and she chuckled.

“Your sister and her boyfriend have not warned you that Azgeda and Trikru are rivals, deathly enemies, have they?” Echo said and he seemed surprised.

“You’re serious?” He asked her and she nodded sipping her drink, “But are you safe here?” She could see his worry for her safety and although if any other guy had done that, she would have hated it, with him it felt good.

“Yes, we are under the Commander’s Coalition so we cannot stir any trouble here as they cannot do the same in Azgeda territory. So we are civilized with each other but the last time we were here was for war with them.” Echo told him.

“And who won?” He asked her and she scoffed.

“Trikru. But only because the Commander stepped in and took charge. Even **we** had to admit that she was a better strategist than any of the others before, so much that she won the battle with little casualties on her side and a lot on ours so we were forced to retreat. The Queen has tried to win a war against the Commander for 5 times and she lost all five of them,” Echo said to him and he was shocked.

“So if we had no made an alliance with them and had gone to war, we would have lost for sure?” He asked her and she nodded.

“Your people could have the weapons to kill many of us at once but you don’t have bullets enough to stop all of us and with her in charge, it would have only ended one way, with your people being slaughtered one by one until there was nothing and no one else left to tell the story,” She said to him and he took a gulp of his drink.

“I’m glad we are allies then,” He said a bit nervously and she smiled.

“So am I,” She said to him.

“Why? Because you’re glad I am alive and here with you?” He asked her and she smirked.

“Because if you had died, I would still be inside that damned Mountain and I would have for that to be my end.” She said to him and he chuckled at her.

“Okay, okay. I got the message, loud and clear.” He said to her and she chuckled as they laughed together, “But uh, do you have any idea of what is it good to eat here? I’m kind of hungry.”

She nodded looking at him, “Come, I’ll show you.” She said and they started walking.

Meanwhile in another part of the part, Octavia was with Lincoln watching her brother flirt with that girl. “Do you know who she is? The girl flirting with my brother,” Octavia asked her boyfriend as he looked to where and who she was pointing at and nodded.

“That is Echo kom Azgeda, from what I have heard, she is the new Azgeda general, Heda chose her for the role herself,” He told her while she looked at him in surprise.

“So, Heda knows her, right?” Octavia asked her and Lincoln shrugged.

“I don’t know. Why are you asking?” He asked her.

“No, it’s just that I have never seen my brother smile like that because of a girl so I was worried about it.” Octavia said to him and he nodded.

“From what I do know, she was in Mount Weather so that must have been where they met.” Lincoln told her and she nodded as they watched around before they heard someone cough behind them and when they turned around to see Indra with her husband and son.

“Indra,” Octavia said greeting her and the woman nodded at her and at Lincoln.

“There hasn’t been a moment where we could have this introduction but now that the battle has been won, the time has come.” Indra said and Octavia nodded, “This is my husband, Amir and my son Levi. This is Octavia kom Skaikru, my second,” Indra introduced them and Octavia was surprised to learn this about Indra. It took a while for her to react but she finally did. “Sorry. Hi. It’s very nice to meet you.” Octavia said to them and they nodded at her smiling.

“It’s very nice to meet you too, Octavia.” Levi said to her.

“Levi is right. It’s nice to meet the girl who finally made my wife decided on taking another second.” Amir said to her and Octavia was surprised.

“You had another second before?” She asked Indra who nodded.

“Yes, one, a long time ago. Anya,” Indra said. Octavia was shocked at those news. She had no idea about any of this.

“Wait, Anya was your second?” Octavia asked her. Indra nodded, amused at the shock the news brought to her current second.

“Yes, more than 16 years ago,” Indra replied.

Octavia nodded, “That is awesome,” She said. Indra nodded looking at her family.

“Well now, we should be going,” Indra said to them. Both her husband and son agreed and said goodbye to the young girl and Lincoln.

“Did you know that?” Octavia asked Lincoln once the family had left.

“Know what? About Anya being Indra’s former second?” he asked her, and she nodded.

“Yes. Did you?” She asked him and he nodded, “Why didn’t you tell me?” Octavia slapped him in the arm and he gave her a small smile.

“Because I didn’t think I should besides it was up to Indra or Anya to mention anything to you.” He said to her and she pouted.

“How am I going to compete with Anya? She is not only a general, but I heard that the Commander is her former second. That means she is very good. How am I going to live up to that with Indra when I barely knew how to hold a sword until a month ago?” Octavia said to herself, but Lincoln held her by the arms to catch her attention and when he did, he spoke.

“You don’t have to compete with Anya. Yes, she was always an exceptional warrior but that doesn’t mean you aren’t good enough. You didn’t know how to hold a sword until a month ago and yet you already are very good with it. You can’t think so badly of yourself. Self-confidence is important for a warrior to have,” Lincoln told her, and she really thought about his words.

“Yeah, you’re right. I don’t need to be better than Anya. I just need to do my best and that is going to be enough. Thank you,” She said before she kissed her boyfriend.

Meanwhile in another part, Anya and Tori were looking around the celebration. More than anything, both women were watching Clarke and Lexa. They had gotten to know Clarke a little bit more with the afternoon they spent together and it was clear to both of them how much she loved Lexa. There was no denying that what those two girls had was something truly special, that you only see it happen once in a while and they wanted to do whatever they could to help both of them. Well, Tori more so than Anya. The general preferred to not get too much involved in such matters but there was nothing she wouldn’t do for her wife.

“ **Do you think they will finally talk things out?** ” Tori asked her wife. Anya was resting against a table and Tori was leaning against her, her back to Anya’s chest with the general’s arms around her as they observed both girls.

“ **I think they both realized where they were going wrong and what they need to do to make it right. I just don’t know if tonight is the night to talk about it. Alcohol could make matters worse for them** ,” Anya explained her thoughts to her wife who nodded in agreement.

“ **Yeah, maybe you’re right. I just hate seeing them like this. It’s been so long since I had seen Lexa so happy and in love. In fact, I don’t think I have ever seen her love someone as much as it was obvious she loves Clarke. I don’t want them to lose that** ,” Tori said worriedly.

“ **But we must let them figure it out on their own. They can’t have us meddling in their relationship every time they have a problem. They need to learn how to deal with their issues on their own, just like we did. I am sure they will always find their way back to each other, no matter how further away they get** ,” Anya supplied while Tori pondered her words.

“You’re right. We will just help this time and let them figure out the rest, okay?” Tori said while Anya couldn’t help but give a small smile to her wife.

“Of course. Whatever you wish, honey,” Anya said before kissing her wife’s shoulder as they continued to observe the situation and those involved in it.

Somewhere else in the village, Clarke, Raven and Murphy were together along with Wells, Jessica. The group of friends were enjoying the celebration but the blonde girl couldn’t keep her eyes away from her girlfriend for too long. Luckily, all her friends were aware of the nature of her relationship with the girl so she didn’t have to hide from them who would every once in a while start teasing her about it but she just took it in stride. She knew they meant no harm and were just trying to lift up her mood for which she appreciated it a lot.

They were talking about something that Clarke was not paying attention when someone came to stand by her side and she finally broke her eye connection to where Lexa was and turned her head to see that the one was no other than Finn and she sighed, already feeling as if this was not going to go well and by the look on his face, she knew she was right. Anyway, she decided to see what he wanted so she turned and greeted him, “Hi Finn.”

“Hey Clarke. Are you enjoying the party?” He asked her.

She gave him a nod in response, “Yes, I am. I am glad we can all be together here without any complications.” He nodded his head at that.

“Yeah, me too. For a minute there, I thought this alliance with them wouldn’t work and that it was a bad idea, but you managed to prove that you were right to trust them,” He said to her.

“Thank you, Finn. That means a lot and no one is gladder for it than me. I really hope this is only the beginning of a great relationship with them. We have much to learn from each other,” Clarke said as politely as she could.

“So, I was wondering if you would like to dance with me. I don’t know how to dance grounder but we could try it together,” Finn said with a smile on his face that Clarke didn’t return.

“Thanks, but I will have to decline. Finn, I hope you haven’t forgotten what we talked about before. As much as I like you as a friend, that is all. Friendship is the only thing that can ever exist between us. I am sorry if you wanted more but this is the way it is going to be,” Clarke tried to be firm when talking so he would finally understand she was serious.

His smile faded and he lowered his head before speaking, “I’m sorry, Clarke. I know we already talked about this and accepted not being anything more but sometimes I can’t help but have hope that maybe things changed, and you would be willing to give me a chance.”

“I’m sorry Finn but that is not going to happen, not now not ever. Besides, there are so many girls who would love to have your attention. Maybe it is time you move on. I know it may be hard for you, but you have to try. Otherwise, you are the only one who is going to keep getting hurt and I don’t want that for you,” Clarke explained to him and he nodded.

“Yeah, you’re right. Sorry to bother you,” He said. She shook her head at him.

“You didn’t bother me. You can always talk to me as long as you remember what the limits between us are,” She said to him. He nodded understanding her words.

“I understand. I think I better get going. Thank you for your time and sorry for everything,” he said to her before he left her. She sighed before she joined her friends again.

“Everything okay with him?” Murphy asked as soon as she rejoined them.

She nodded, sighing before she spoke, “I think the alcohol is clouding his judgement so I had to remind him again that nothing will happen between us. I hope he will be okay.”

“He will be. He is a tough guy, he will bounce back from a broken heart,” Raven said to her, already making some mental notes to go talk to the guy later.

“Yeah, he is. But maybe this once, it will be better for both od you if you two kept your distance until then, don’t you think?” Wells said to her.

Jessica nodded her head agreeing with her boyfriend as she spoke to the blonde, “Wells is right, Clarke. The best thing you can do for Finn is give him space to be hurt and to try to get over you on his own. Heartbreak takes time and space to heal. Maybe that is all he needs.”

“Yeah, you’re all probably right. I will do that. I just wish it hadn’t had to be like this at all,” She said apologetically before they all continued to enjoy their time and both Clarke and Lexa, in their respective spots couldn’t wait to get a moment for themselves to finally, once and for all, talk things out between them and fix whatever needs to be fixed in their relationship so they can finally move on and forward with their life together.


	41. It's finally time

For what was worth, Lexa had been enjoying the party, not as much as she hoped she would. Given the fact she hasn’t still talked with Clarke, the celebration didn’t have the same feel of happiness as if she could have spent this time with the woman she desperately loves, more than anything. Lexa had wanted to talk to Clarke earlier, after the burning of the bodies but she had been called to a meeting with two generals who were weary of her choice of Azgeda General. She had to explain to them some of her reasons, the ones needed to get them to step back, the last thing she needed was for them to go and make trouble with Echo.

So she gave them her time and ear as she listened to their complaints and worries, giving it her full attention before she was able to convince them that Echo was not a bad choice for the role and warned them to leave the woman alone, to give her time to prove on which side of the spectrum she would fall onto, either way, Lexa would deal with her if needed. That had been what they needed to hear from her, apparently and once she assured them that everything in regard to that was in her control, they relaxed and left her but her work didn’t stop there as other generals, especially the news one came to talk to her one by one about other things.

They wanted to introduce themselves to her and personally swear their loyalty to her and hear her advices on what she would need from them and what she also expected from them. Loyalty, fairness, strength, respect and many other qualities would be required of them if they wanted to perform their duty to the best of their abilities and to her satisfaction. She had spent some time with each one and she didn’t have a bad feeling about any of them so far. Some were new to the job, some were not but in the end, they have all been able to reach an agreement on how to move forward and Lexa was a little bit more relaxed about that.

Now, she was in the party talking with some of the elders of TonDC, she liked to keep a nice relationship with them, get to know them, let them know her in return. It was important for her in many different ways and for very many different reasons, one of them being that they were very influent with their people and could help or make her job harder than it is so diplomacy was always a skill she was constantly practicing. She was doing just that when Anya came and joined them. “ **Commander. Elders**.” She said as she joined them and they greeted her back, “ **I was hoping I could steal our Commander for a little bit.** ”

“ **Excuse me for a moment**.” Lexa said to them as they nodded at her before she followed Anya to where Tori was standing, near where she had been, “ **Is there something wrong?** ” She asked them, confusedly by their weird behavior.

“Yes, actually there is something incredibly wrong. You still haven’t talked with Clarke and you really have to.” Tori said to her as a matter of fact and Lexa couldn’t help but sigh in response.

“I know that. Believe me I do. But I just haven’t found the right moment for it. I have been so busy all day and now, everyone is enjoying the celebration. I don’t think is the right time for that,” Lexa replied to them but Anya simply shook her head.

“There is never a right moment. The moment you do it will be the right moment. You will just have to trust me on this one,” Anya said while Lexa sighed deeply.

“I do. I trust you. Always,” Lexa answered before she turned to look around and found Clarke there talking with some of her friends.

“Could it be that you are scared of what this talk is going to be like and you are avoiding it because of that fear?” Tori said gently as Lexa sighed and looked back at her.

“It is possible, yes,” Lexa said to her and Tori smiled, “What if I hear what I don’t want to hear? What if she says she is not ready to be with me with everything that comes with that? What if this is the end? What if this life of always worrying about me is too much for her too handle? What if I lose her because of what I am? I don’t know if I want to find out those answers.”

Anya shook her head, “I knew you were afraid which is exactly why I went to talk to her first.” She said and Lexa looked at her friend shocked.

“You did?” She asked and Anya nodded her head, seeing the curiosity on the younger girl’s eyes shining through. They were truly in love, there was no doubt about it, if there ever was.

“Yes, I did and although I could see that there were a bunch of things she wasn’t aware of before our talk, I was able to shed some very much needed light on some things and she has a better understanding of things now that she did before so if I were you, I would talk to her as quickly as possible. Make sure this fight doesn’t extend itself for longer than it already has. You need to make peace with each other, you feel very strongly about one another, we can see that but if there is one thing Tori and I know is that any relationship takes work and effort,” Anya advised and her wife could only nod as she put her arm around Anya’s shoulder.

“There were so many fights between Anya and I in these past 14 years, fights in which I thought we could not come back from. Fights that seemed to be the end of things between us but when push came to shove, one look at her and I knew that I couldn’t give up on her, give up on us, on everything we have lived and have yet to live together, so we made it work. We talk, express our feelings about anything we feel and we work through it. Always trying to understand each other’s point of view. And now, you and Clarke are in your first fight and you need to fight for her. If you want her, that is.” Tori said and Lexa nodded.

“I do want her. More than I have ever wanted anything in my entire life,” Lexa said as they both could see the truth and the sincerity in her words and nodded.

“Then go and talk to her. No one is going to miss you in the party, you did your part, you made your speech and you talked with who you needed to talk to. Go. You both need this conversation to happen tonight. I have never seen you like this since Costia and maybe not even then, so don’t let this one slip through your fingers. I’m not one to be in touch with their inner feelings but I taught you better than to run away from a battle simply because you were afraid of the result,” Anya reminded her as Lexa nodded her head.

“Yeah, you’re right. I don’t want to keep avoiding this.” Lexa said and sighed, “I’ll go talk to her.” She looked back at them who nodded before she started on her way towards Clarke.

“Do you think they will make up?” Tori asked Anya who sneak her right on her wife’s waist pulling her closer.

“We always did, don’t we? And I am much more difficult to work with than Lexa. So, I think they will be just fine,” Anya said shrugging and they kissed before Tori pulled back.

“You know you’re really lucky I love you, don’t you?” Tori said smirking teasingly at her and Anya smirked right back at her wife.

“Does it matter if I know? You never let me forget it anyway,” Anya replied chuckling and Tori scoffed as the other woman chuckled, “But yes, I do know. I’m very lucky you came to my life,” Anya said to her wife and they kissed, staying like that wrapped around each other.

In another part of camp meanwhile the three friends had been talking, everyone was having an amazing time at the party. Grounders and Arkers alike were laughing and enjoying themselves, music filling the place, drinks flowing right and left. And as Clarke watched it from where she was standing, she was incredibly happy and proud of having accomplished this, with the help of her friends and Lexa, of course. Maybe this is exactly what should have happened in the original timeline, maybe this was exactly how things should have been between the two people. Harmony and friendship.

Not war and bloodshed or the hateful feeling Pike tried to inspire on the people of Arkadia during her absence, the hate he managed to inspire on Bellamy who was right now flirting with Echo shamelessly. Clarke had understood what motivated them to take actions against the grounders, but she could never agree with it. It was unfair, despicable, cruel, a massacre, an uncalled for slaughter of 300 innocent and good people sent to keep the safe from harm, who had the misfortune of taking on the rage Azgeda inspired with their attack on the Mountain.

Clarke couldn’t help but imagine what was happening to Pike and Farm Station right now? Right at this exact moment? They were probably fearing an attack from the Azgeda warriors. Clarke didn’t know and she wasn’t sure how much she cared either way for them. There were good people in their midst, but the majority of them shared Pike’s view on the Grounders, Monty’s mom to begin with and Clarke didn’t know if she truly cared about their lives as much as she should being their leader and all. But she knew she didn’t want them to suffer for as long as they did in the OGTL, that should be enough.

Octavia came to sit beside her, “So how does it feel to be celebrated like this for something you helped achieve?” The girl asked her as Clarke shrugged.

“First of all, I’m not being celebrated. Second, I didn’t win the fight, we all did. We all played our parts in the Mountain’s defeat. This celebration is for everyone,” Clarke replied to her as the girl nodded, “Where is Lincoln anyway?”

“Surprisingly or not, he is talking with Finn,” Octavia said chuckling to herself thinking about her boyfriend discussing anything with the boy he had attacked and almost killed as if nothing had happened between them. Clarke could only chuckle.

“Actually, that is not surprising at all. The two of them have a few things in common, I would guess. They both want peace for everyone. Besides, I feel like Lincoln can be a good influence on him, you know. Help Finn find himself again,” Clarke said to the girl.

“How are you doing? After everything?” Octavia asked her giving her a small smile which Clarke returned before she sighed deeply.

“Relieved. Happy. Tired. Getting Drunk. And you?” Clarke answered jokingly.

“All of the above plus worried about my brother. Have you seen his newest conquest?” Octavia motioned for Clarke to look at the dance floor where Bellamy and Echo were dancing very close to one another, if what they were doing could even be called dancing.

“He has never danced before. Ever,” Octavia said to Clarke and the blonde looked back at her. “And maybe you’re just a tiny little bit jealous you’re no longer the only person he pays that much attention to? It would be normal if you did, by the way. No judgment,” Clarke said to her and the younger Blake looked at her.

“Would it really be normal to feel that way? Isn’t it just pure selfishness to not like having to share him with anyone?” She asked unsure of herself as Clarke nodded her head, understanding the girl’s dilemma.

“Yeah. It is normal. You had him for yourself and he only lived to take care of you for 16 years. That is exactly how he felt when you met Lincoln.” Clarke said and Octavia sighed.

“I should have been more understanding of his feeling then. Because if this is how he felt like, I have to say it, it kind of really sucks,” The younger Blake told her and Clarke smiled putting her hand on the girl’s shoulder.

“It took your brother quite some time to accept Lincoln’s place in your life since you’re his little sister so it is very likely that it will take some time for you to accept anyone that makes him smile like that or someone who shares his bed for more than one night as well. But the same way he gave Lincoln a chance, you should give Echo a chance as well,” Clarke explained.

Octavia looked at the blonde before she asked her, “Do you really think I should?”

Clarke nodded her head. “Yes, I don’t know much about her, but I do know that he wouldn’t even be here today if she hadn’t helped him inside that place and for what is worth, I do think she feels the same way about him. It is possible Bellamy is starting to fall in love which would probably be for the first time. Also she is from a not very nice clan, and although I can’t judge her on that, it is safe to say that obstacles will be there for them if they decided to take this further which I bet my money they will.

And as his sister, he will need your support more than anyone else’s and as he supports you even when you want to change clans, you will need to support him in this as well. He deserves to be happy and if that girl is the key to that then, stand by him through all of it. That is all he will need from you,” Clarke gave the girl some advice and Octavia listened to it well.

“Yeah, you’re right. I haven’t seen him laugh and look like that since before Mom was killed and even then, he was always so tense wondering when would be the day they would find out about me. It’s nice to see he loosen up,” Octavia said honestly as Clarke nodded, “Too bad she will be living soon.”

Clarke frowned at that information, she had no idea about it. “She is leaving soon? Why? To where?” Clarke asked the girl and Octavia nodded.

“We all are actually. Tomorrow morning, we will be accompanying the Commander back to the capitol, Polis. As the new Azgeda general, Echo is required to come along and as Indra’s second I will be going too,” Octavia explained and Clarke was in shock. It couldn’t be.

“Lexa is leaving tomorrow?” Clarke asked her, not really believing what she was hearing but having no choice when she saw that Octavia nodded in affirmative.

“Yes, she is, we received the order to prepare for the trip yesterday. I though you knew about it already,” Octavia said feeling a bit confused as to why Clarke didn’t seem to know anything about this. Clarke only paled the more the younger Blake talked.

“I’m sorry, O but I have to go. I see you later,” Clarke said as she stood up leaving her cup on the table before she made her way through the crowd. She couldn’t believe that Lexa was leaving and without telling her anything about it. What the hell was going on? Clarke needed answers and she needed them right now. She tried to make way through the dancing crowd, but it was proving to be difficult until she bumped into someone and by how her body lit on fire at the smallest of touches, she already knew whose body it was.

Lexa had been on her way towards Clarke as well when the two of them collided with one another. They simply started at each other for a while before they broke the silence at the same time. “We need to talk,” They said in unison and gave a small smile to that.

“Follow me. I know a place we can talk freely,” Lexa instructed and Clarke nodded as she followed the brunette out of the dancing floor and all the way back to the house they had shared while they were here planning for battle of the Mountain. Lexa opened the door for Clarke and Clarke got inside as Lexa did the same and closed the door behind them, shutting the outside world and living only in their own for the next few hours.


	42. Great News and Old Flames

The adults are having the most fun between all of the Arkers attending the party, especially Kane who as soon as he had met his friends had told them the amazing news that he and Callie were expecting their first child. Jake had been the first one to hug and congratulate him. “I’m so happy for you, my friend,” Jake said as he hugged Kane and Abby and Jaha congratulated Callie. Abby already knew, both as her doctor, her best friend and as the person who made this possible, but either way, she was so very happy for both of her friends.

After pulling away from the Jake’s hug, it was time for Thelonious to hug him as well. “I am very proud and very happy for you, Kane. You will be great at this new challenge life is giving you. I believe in you,” Jaha said to him and Kane nodded greeting him and patting him on the back before they pulled away and he went to hug Abby as Callie hugged Jake.

“Congratulations. You two will be amazing parents and I am sure you will be an amazing father,” Abby said against his shoulder and Kane felt content.

In the other timeline, he had fallen in love with Abby, slowly and she with him and until Praimfaya they had been really happy together or as well as one could be with the imminent threat of the end of the world looming over their heads. But he had enjoyed being with her, staying with her and when she asked to stay outside, to die, he couldn’t do it. He loved her very much and he knew that coming back to this time, saving Jake and Callie that something like that wouldn’t happen between them this time around and he was okay with it.

With Callie, he hadn’t been so sure about where their relationship was and where it would be, although he had loved her, he had never shown it to her, never said more than necessary, barely paid her any attention, it was why she had volunteered for sector 17 and he hadn’t even tried to convince her otherwise. He was a jackass but killing all those people, including his wife and then realizing it was all for nothing had shaken him inside and turned him away from the cold-heartedness he had shown and even then, Callie had made him a better man.

Coming back to the past and seeing her again, he had no doubts that he would do his absolute best to be the most loving, caring, attentive husband he could possibly be. That he would be deserving of her love and devotion, that he would be deserving of her, so when Clarke woke him up, that was exactly what he set out to do. He started to fix all the holes in their relationship and he didn’t even have to try that hard. Callie loved him so much that she was more than willing to help him in working to fix their marriage, so he had given her his all. The best in him, all he could master he gave it to her this past year.

Dinners as romantic as the Ark allowed it to be, he asked her about her day and truly paid attention to what she was saying, not realizing how much he loved hearing her talk about things she was passionate about. He also made sure to always spend quality time with her, he made sure to step up and be friends with Jake and Abby, who were her friends. With Clarke though once he woke up, the relationship was already there but seeing him and her goddaughter had warmed Callie’s heart as well. He said I love you to her many times a day because he did. He may have only loved her before, but he was very much in love with his wife now and he doesn’t plan on ever stop letting her know that.

And now, to top it all and show once again the amazing woman she is and how lucky he is to be loved by her, she is giving him a child. He had never known he wanted to have kids, not until he was thrown into the role with the 100 kids, especially Bellamy who seemed to need it the most and he realized that he wanted it but by then, ALIE already had the destruction of the planet coming their way. However this time, it was different. The threat was still out there but they had a way to defeat her before she even begin her rule of terror so right now he couldn’t be anything other than happy about it. He was beyond happy, he was thrilled.

“How far along are you Callie?” Jake said as he hugged his wife and Kane did the same to his while Jaha stood alone, his wife long gone from this world.

“About 3 to 4 weeks. I had Abby removed the birth control device, not long after we landed here on Earth and it happened quite faster than I expected it to but I’m not complaining.” Callie said and they smiled.

“Nice aim buddy,” Jake said to Kane and everyone laughed as Abby slapped her husband.

“Jake.” She said, in a scolding tone but without really meaning it while her husband only chuckled in response, along with the others.

“What? It was just a joke,” He said playing innocent. The others simply shook their heads at him while he leaned down and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

“Abby, everything is okay with them, right? There is nothing to be worried about? They are both fine?” Kane asked her and the woman nodded.

“They are both perfectly fine. Very healthy,” Abby answered him ast he visibly relaxed.

“Thank you. I really needed to hear that,” He said to her and she nodded. First time parents were always the most worried ones so she was already used to it.

“Somehow I think he will finally start losing some of his hair in the next 8 months,” Jaha said and everyone laughed including Kane who touched his head.

“You know what? I think you’re right. I will worry myself until the day the baby is born and I see the two of them are really okay,” Kane said to them and the two other men nodded.

“Welcome to the club buddy. You may think it is a joke but I had much more hair before Abby got pregnant with Clarke,” Jake said jokingly.

“He did. Jake would worry about anything, wake up with the slightest hiss I did when trying to find a good position to sleep. And when it was the last month and he was worry about when the water would break? He would keep asking me if he saw me move weirdly. Is it broken? Do we have to go now? Are you breathing in and out? He completely ignored the fact that I am the doctor and would know if anything was wrong with me or the baby,” Abby told them.

“Well, I couldn’t help it. The thought of losing either one of you was unbearable.” Jake said to her as he kissed her forehead and she snuggled even further against him.

“With Mila, I was the same and even after Wells was born, I still continued to worry. I think you never really stop. I will say the real worry starts when they come out and you realize that everything in the world can hurt them and you just want to keep them safe from it all and at some point you have to realize you can’t.” Jaha said and the other set of parents nodded.

“Well, I think it is safe to say the two of us got PhDs on that,” Jake said as the others laughed.

“Now, that you guys are here and there is no more law about having only one child, you guys would want to have another one?” Kane asked the couple who looked at each other.

“We don’t have anything planned now. With Clarke and with Charlotte, we have our hands full but maybe in the future, who knows? We still have time,” Jake replied as Abby nodded at him.

“Yeah, for now, we are concentrating our energy on our girls and what happens next happens next,” Abby said and they toasted to that as they continued to talk joining in along with the grounders, at some point even Indra came to talk to them along with her husband.

In another part of the camp, Bellamy and Echo finally left the dance floor as she pulled him by the hand towards the tent she was residing in while in the village. They had been dancing when she said by his ear that she wanted to finish what they had started earlier by the river and the only thing he could do after that was nod. He explained his living arrangement at the moment, so she shook her head. She wanted privacy and luckily for them as the new general, she was allowed a bigger tent than the one she had been before. She lead them there.

Once she got to it, she told the guards staying outside it that she didn’t want to be disturbed unless it is by an emergency, so they nodded their heads before she pulled Bellamy inside. There was a large cot at the side of it and candle light lighting up the place. He looked at her as she stood in front of him. “This is nice,” He said to her and she nodded.

“Yeah, perks of being in a position of power is to be given better sleeping arrangements but enough of that.” She said to him before she came closer to him and caressed his face as she spoke, “So, are we going to keep on chatting or are we going straight to business?”

He smiled at her before he moved forward and connected their lips while held her by the waist pulling her closer to his body. She was a bit surprised by the bold attitude he was showing but she was most definitely not complaining about it. She wanted him and he wanted her and there was more between them, that much was obvious but neither were ready to tap in or talk about that so they simply let their physical need overpower them and soon enough, Echo was taking off his jacket and his shirt followed it quickly before she undid hers, given that there were more buckles and all as he held her face and continued kissing her.

Once her jacket was off, Bellamy reached down and grabbed the hem of the shirt and pulled it over her head revealing her bare chest as he pulled her close and felt the skin contact with his. “You’re beautiful,” He said and she smiled at his words. As they continued kissing as her hands moved down to his waist, Bellamy waste no time before shrugging off his boots and Echo did the same before her hands started unbuckling his belt and unbuttoning his pants as he did the same to her. They both shrugged off that piece of clothing until they were both only in the lower underwear.

With one swift movement, Bellamy pulled Echo up of the ground while she wasted no time in wrapping her legs around his waist before she moved to kiss his neck as he walked them towards the cot and laid her down, holding himself up on his arms in between her legs as they continued to kiss however she had other plans and with one swift movement turned their position around and was the one straddling him before she leaned forward and connected their lips again as his hand found her butt and grabbed it enacting a moan out of her.

She could feel his member and how hard he was so she started to trail kisses down his neck, then moved to his chest, his abs until she came to her destination and started to pull the last piece of fabric down as he was finally naked and she had to admit, he was bigger than she expected which for her was even better. She wasted no time before taking him on her mouth and only heard his harsh intake of breath as she continued her ministration and just before she felt he was losing control, she stopped and crawled back on top of him to kiss him.

He growled against her mouth but she only smirk and he decided to take his revenge, so he flipped them around and did the same thing to her. First, he kissed her neck, then he moved to her breast, taking one in his mouth as his hand touched the other, changing side once he was done so he would give the same amount of attention to both before he trailed down until he pulled her underwear down as well and started playing with his tongue. She had not expected him to be that good, but he was, and she could only grip the sheets beneath her.

Just like she did to him, when he felt she was close, he stopped and went back up as they kissed for a while before he looked up at her. “Are you sure about this?” He asked her to be sure that this was something they both wanted and that she was okay with it going further.

“Yes. Now, do it,” She said as she opened her legs to accommodate him in between them as he grabbed his member and positioned himself at her entrance before pushing it in. They both took a deep breath at the feeling before he started moving and thrusting in and out of her.

Echo could do nothing but rock her hips to match his pace and the angle he was hitting was making her moan, not very loud but loud enough for him to enjoy it and he was grunting in pleasure as well, which turned her on even more. He picked up the pace as they continued to kiss, panting, as he kissed her neck and she had no choice with the wave of pleasure she was feeling but to claw on his back and after some time, they both reached their climax together. He rolled off of her panting and sweaty and so was she.

“Wow, I didn’t know you Sky people were so good at this,” Echo said to him and he chuckled.

“It’s good to know you liked it. You are not so bad yourself, you know,” He said to her. She smirked as she turned to look at him.

“What about stamina Sky Boy? Are you good on that as well?” She asked him smirking as if challenging him and he just smirked right back at her.

“I’ll say we can have a few more times if you want.” He said to her and she smirked before she straddled him and smirked down at him.

“Let’s see what you are made off,” She said smirking while looking at him as if she was a predator looking at her prey as she was about to devour it and he had to say he had never been more aroused by anything as he was seeing that look on her face and she felt it, smirking even more before she moved down to kiss him, starting another round as they continued with their activities, bringing each other pleasure for the rest of the night.


	43. Real Needed Talk

Clarke and Lexa entered the house and went to the living room, Lexa moved forward and removed her jacket, got rid of her ceremonial sword before going towards the bottles. The conversation was sure to be a difficult one even if the end result was a good one like them both hoped it would be. “You want something to drink? Water, tea, juice, alcohol? Anything?” She asked Clarke and the blonde simply shook her head. She would rather keep a sound mind for this, which is why she had avoided drinking at the part as much as possible.

“No but thank you for offering. What I want is to know why I had to find out through Octavia that you are leaving tomorrow to go to Polis,” Clarke said in a firm tone as she crossed her arms around her chest and Lexa sighed as she poured herself some drink, now that she was inside the house, she could drink if she wanted to.

“It was unfortunately a last-minute decision and I was going to tell you earlier after the burning of the bodies, but I was called away and didn’t have a chance to do it. I’m sorry, I really wish I had been the one to tell you,” Lexa explained as she turned around and walked until she came towards the table leaning against it facing Clarke who was across from her.

“Were you really going to tell me that you were leaving?” Clarke said to her, the hurt in her voice not hidden as Clarke hadn’t tried to. Lexa sighed.

“Obviously Clarke. I would not have left without talking to you. But things were so busy for me today that I had no time to breathe. I am sorry for not letting you know about it sooner,” Lexa said to her sincerely and Clarke could only nod in response as Lexa took a sip of her drink.

“I guess it’s time we talk about what has happened between us the past couple of days, isn’t it?” Clarke said deciding to breach the subject already so they could get started on what they were here for and Lexa nodded in agreement.

“You can start. The floor is yours.” She said as she took another sip of her drink.

“First of all, I did not, under any circumstance, sleep with Bellamy. Whatever you heard on the radio was a misunderstanding,” Clarke said to her and Lexa titled her head.

“What I heard was him saying things like that was his shirt and you were calling him to your bed. You can understand at least why I could have thought that you had slept with him, can’t you?” Lexa said to her and Clarke nodded.

“Yes, I know very well how it sounded but it was not what you may have thought it was. What happened was that in the afternoon, a group of us decided to get together and talk about everything that had happened and the boys had stolen some alcohol bottles from the Mountain, and we all started drinking while laughing and having a good time. Bellamy got incredibly drunk, I was more sober than him and since there were others in a similar situation I offered to carry him, and my room was closer than his so I thought I could let him crash with me instead of dragging a man that size by myself across the entire station. It was just easier,” Clarke started explaining as Lexa listened.

“So, with that in mind, I took him with me to my quarters and when I turned around to close the door, he stumbled all the way to my room and fell on my bed, fully clothed including very messy and dirty boots. When I saw it, I told him to get his boots off before he got in bed to not dirty the sheets and once he got up to do it, he was losing his balance trying to get them off. I was laughing at him but then he said he was hot and took off his shirt and threw it on my face then I threw it on the floor which was the shirt comment you heard.

Then, I told him to come to bed because he was too drunk to be standing up, he could hurt himself or worse so he fell on the bed, I put medicine for the horrible hangover I knew he would have in the morning by his side and went to sleep on the couch outside of the room. I woke up the next day, got sick, he got sick and once he was better, he dressed himself and left. Next thing I know Charlotte is telling me you misunderstood what was going on. I went as fast as I could to the Mountain, but you had already left and asked Raven to tell me not to follow you and that was it,” Clarke finished telling her story.

“I have to admit that for a moment I couldn’t help but think that something had happened. However, as I explained on the note I left for you, once my thoughts cleared I knew you would not do that to me. I trust you. You wouldn’t hurt me like that,” Lexa said sincerely, and Clarke breathed out a sigh of relief.

“Thank you for believing in me and I would never do that to you or anyone. I was so angry at Finn for doing that to me and Raven so trust me, I would never put anyone else through that.” Clarke said to her and Lexa nodded.

“So I figured. I believe a misunderstanding of communication had happened so if you are worried about that, don’t be. I know you didn’t cheat on me with Bellamy,” Lexa told her.

“If you didn’t think I had betrayed you, why did you ask me to stay away until today? Why didn’t you let me come to you in that moment so we could have worked this out by then instead of waiting so long?” Clarke asked her and Lexa sighed.

“This is the heart of the matter, isn’t it?” Lexa said to her very calmly and collected, everything Clarke was not feeling at the moment. She was just scared of what was coming now that the subject of what happened has been cleared between them.

“What are you talking about?” Clarke said and the girl took another gulp of her drink.

“I didn’t want you to come then Clarke, because after everything we have been though a misunderstanding like that is the least of my worries. We have much more unsolved business between us than that, and you know it.” Lexa said to the blonde.

“What do you mean?” Clarke said getting a little worried.

“Ever since the afternoon before my death, then in the Valley, we have thrown ourselves into this relationship because we love each other and that is undeniable. I love you so much it hurts to be away from you for one second,” Lexa admitted to her and Clarke nodded.

“I feel the same way about you which is why it hurt when you actively pushed me away,” She replied and Lexa smiled at her.

“I know you do. I know. But I know and you know that so much has happened between us since the day we met, things that we overlooked because there was something else that needed to be done or someone else that needed saving or someone was screwing things up or we were just caught up in being reunited,” Lexa said to her.

Clarke knew Lexa was speaking the truth, she just wasn’t sure where the girl was getting at. Could this be what Anya and Tori had talked to her about? How there are more things to take into consideration if they are to really do this? She continued to pay attention on the brunette.

“We can’t go on like this, Clarke. We can’t keep doing what we have been doing since the beginning because if we do, we will love and hate each other so much that in the end there will be nothing left, nor one or the other,” Lexa said sincerely.

“What are you saying? Are you breaking up with me?” Clarke asked her confusedly and fearful while Lexa shook her head.

“No, that is not what I want. At all,” Lexa told her. It really was the last thing she wanted for them, to not be together but for them to work they needed to avoid making the same mistakes they made in the original timeline.

Clarke frowned at her answer, “Then what do you want? I don’t understand Lexa. Just please, explain it to me what do you want.”

“What I want is for us to get all the cards on the table and solve all the issues we have with each other or else I’m afraid we will destroy the beautiful love we have. I want you to tell me about everything I did that made you feel hurt, everything that happened that made you doubt me, and in return I will do the same. We have two lifetimes of problems we need to solve if we want this relationship to be healthy and long lasting. I don’t want to lose you but if we don’t solve whatever issues we have form now or the past, that is exactly what will happen to us and I don’t want that,” Lexa said to her and Clarke finally understood her.

She couldn’t say she didn’t think it wasn’t a good idea if they were to make their relationship wor, they would need to communicate like this, but this kind of conversation would either make or break them and she was worried about which one would be when it was over and all was said and done. “I understand. I agree, we need to talk, be painfully honest,” Clarke said to her and Lexa nodded.

“Exactly. Let’s sit down and you may start if you want. I imagine you have quite a lot to say to me,” Lexa said motioning for the chair before standing up, putting another cup in front of the blonde’s chair as well as the bottle in the middle of the table. “We may need it.” Lexa said as both girls took a sit facing each other, the table wasn’t very big so they were quite close. Lexa spoke to her as Clarke sighed, “Go ahead.”

“Well, I guess we should start at the beginning when the 100 first arrived here. We had no idea that your people lived here or that we were invading someone else’s home and your people just attacked us. Now I understand why you did but couldn’t you have tried to approach us first? See what we wanted, why we were there in the first place, talk to us instead of just killing us? I lost some many of friends because of that and so many deaths of both sides could have been avoided from that beginning moment if things had been done in a different way,” Clarke said to her and Lexa sighed.

“Your people fell from the Sky on Trikru land, however my people only attacked yours when your friend crossed the border and started drawing attention of the Mountain Men and we did not attack you after that, for days. I received word from Anya that Lincoln had been scouting your camp and told her that you were children, discovering the world as if for the first time. That you posed no threat to us, so I told them to leave you be for now and just observe. You were doing us no harm and considering you fell in the middle of the woods, closer to the Mountain than to a Trikru village so why not wait and see what you wanted? I did that, Clarke,

You were not attacked by us until the day you send those flares that burned one of my villages to the ground, leaving no survivor, killing more than a hundred innocent people. I started to see you as threat. You had power that only the Mountain Men had used on us before, so I saw you as I saw them. And truthfully, how was I supposed to look at that? As an invitation to be friends? No, Clarke. I saw it as an attack because that is what it was,” Lexa told her and although she could see Lexa was right on most of it, on the last part, Clarke couldn’t help but shake her head negative.

“No, it wasn’t an attack Lexa. We were not at war with your people yet. I don’t know if she told you, but I informed Anya when she told me about it that it was a message to the Ark and how were we supposed to know the location of your village? Any of your villages so that we could aim for somewhere that wouldn’t hurt anyone?  Be reasonable. We couldn’t have. If I had known the flares would have caused so much damage, I would have tried to find another way to alert our people up there that we were alive,” Clarke explained to her girlfriend.

“I can understand that you had to talk to them and couldn’t have known what the flares would do but you have to understand that every action has a reaction, sometimes one we predicted, sometimes one we did not. That was the case. Whether you wanted to or not, whether it was your intention or not, you attacked us. You started something, unintentionally? Yes, but you started it nonetheless. We weren’t attacking you because we were the bad guys, we were attacking you because we were defending ourselves from you.

Your people took Lincoln and tortured him, which in the situation wasn’t something that surprised me. It was to be expected that anyone you caught of my people would have suffered that fate, I believe Murphy had similar experience in Anya’s hands while being captured by us. So whatever problems you have with that, you need to work it out with Lincoln himself, not me. But the bridge you exploded was a very important piece of our land. That was the main route from other clans to trade with Trikru, I had to reroute everything to make sure my clan still got everything they needed,” Lexa said to her.

“We didn’t want to start a war or to make your lives difficult. We just wanted to be left alone,” Clarke said to her. She knew that what Lexa was saying was the truth, intentions matters little in this world where actions speak louder.

“No good person wants to start a war or fight in one, Clarke. But a simple action, a simple word or phrase can be the pinpoint start of one, which is why we always need to think about what we do or what we say because there will be a reaction to it. Good or bad is out of our hands but a reaction will come one way or another,” Lexa said to her.

“I am sorry that the bridge was a important piece of trading route for your clan, I am sorry we had to destroy it but come on Lexa, see things from my perspective here. Your clan infected one of us with a biological warfare and sent him back to our camp. You used it as a strategy to weaken us, to soften the battlefield, at least that is what Lincoln told Octavia when I sent her to find the cure. Your people used what you could against us, we did the same. Destroying the bridge would delay the arrival of your warriors long enough for the sickness to pass. Once again, we couldn’t have known what that bridge meant for you, all we knew was that it meant for us one more day alive. We couldn’t have done anything else and the strategist in you knows that,” Clarke talked to her and Lexa had to admit Clarke was right about that.

“Yes, you are right about that. The destruction of the bridge, it seems, was inevitable if your people had wanted to survive and I can understand that,” Lexa agreed which made Clarke feel relieved that at least on this they could be on the same page. It was horrible but it was war.

“Despite that, I am sorry for everything we did to your people. It was never my intention to cause any trouble or any death. We were just a bunch of irresponsible and unprepared kids who did what we could with what we had at the time,” Clarke said sincerely as Lexa nodded.

“I know that you feel that way, but our problems don’t stop there.” Lexa said to her girlfriend, “The ring of fire was yet another strategy on your part that killed som many of my people, however, much like the bridge, I understand that you did what you could to help your people survive and there is nothing wrong with that. But what happened here after that. What Finn did to the people in this place was heinous, Clarke.

He slaughtered innocent people. Children that had done nothing wrong, elders who wanted to keep their people safe. Innocent people and he just shot them, one after the other and despite knowing that, despite seeing it with your own eyes, you still tried to protect him, almost sending your own people and yourself to die on his place. I know that you cared for him Clarke. I know he was important to you, but he was a murderer. He murdered those people. He deserved to be punished, yet you fought to save him. You even offered yourself up in his place,” Lexa said to her, until now trying to make sense of that.

“I know. I know what Finn did, Lexa. Like you said it, I was there, I saw it as it happened. I don’t think I will ever forget it. And I also agree with you. What he did was abominable, there was no good explanation, no reason that could absolve him of that, but I think I said this to you once, that is all you knew about him. When I met Finn, he was straight obnoxious, not like Murphy but I still found him annoying. However, one thing I could see in him was that he had a good heart. He gave himself up for a crime he didn’t commit so he could save Raven. When I told him about what happened to my Dad, he agreed that we should tell the people about the flaw in the Ark's oxygen system.

He was that idealistic boy, who liked to smile, who liked to have some fun but who knew what was wrong and what was right. When Charlotte went and killed Wells and everyone wanted to hang her, Finn was the one who helped us hide her from them. When Bellamy was a douchebag, Finn was the one who stood up to him. He tried to help us make contact with the Ark to save people up there from being killed for nothing. He got stabbed and almost killed by Lincoln and still when we found the guns, he was against us using them on your people.

He went to see Lincoln himself to try to form a peace treaty between our people. He was the one who got me the meeting with Anya and hadn’t it been for me, if it was up to him, we wouldn’t have brought the guns even if your people did. When it was clear you were coming for us, he wanted us to leave to avoid war. That was the kind of person he was. He was the first person who would vote for us to find a peaceful way to deal with things. He didn’t like violence. He hated killing and guns. That was the Finn I loved,” Clarke told her.

“Then, if he was such a good person, how did he do what he did? How did he go from being a peaceful guy to someone who would slaughter children?” Lexa asked sincerely confused.

“I wasn’t lying to you that night when I told you he did it for me. The war we fought against your people the night of the fire changed him, yes. But what really made him capable of those things was finding out I was missing. It was thinking that your people had taken **me** and could be torturing or could have already killed me. So, he went looking for me, ready to do whatever it took to get **me** back,” Clarke said before she drowned her drink.

“Clarke, you can’t think that his actions are your fault,” Lexa said talking to the girl.

“But you see, it was. Murphy was there with him and tried to get him to stop but nothing, he kept shooting. Octavia got there first and told him to stop, he kept shooting. Bellamy came after and told him to stop, he kept shooting. I appeared and at the sound of my voice, he stopped. All it took was for him to see me alive, to see me okay and he stopped. He was searching for **me**. Not our friends, for **me**. If I hadn’t been captured or if I had gotten to him faster, he wouldn’t have done it. I know it. He wouldn’t have. So, in a twisted way, sometime I do feel like it was my fault he did it,” Clarke said as a tear feel down on her face.

“But they are not. Whatever he did, he did because he lost control. If what I am understanding from his behavior is correct and something tells me it is, he would have exploded one way or another Clarke. Maybe the targets would have changed but I’m not sure it would have had a better outcome. Finn was lost. By what you are telling me, the war asked him for a price he paid but wasn’t prepared for the toll it would take on him. You and I are familiar with that situation,” Lexa said as Clarke nodded before she continued,

“Perhaps, you and I had the strength to somehow keep ourselves grounded whereas he had not. I have done things that brought me on the edge as have you, however, we both had the strength to pull ourselves back from that cliff, but I believe Finn went over the edge and he would gone with or without you there to stop him, Clarke. I'm not even sure you really could have. He would have snapped at some point, perhaps when it got too much. What happened to him and what he did was not your fault, Clarke. It was his and his alone. I didn’t sentence him to death and you didn’t kill him. He was his own judge and executioner. The responsibility is his to bear, not yours or mine,” Lexa said.

“I know that now. It wasn’t easy to convince myself of that but since the time I spent in the Valley rethinking some of my actions, how I handled things with Finn is something I know I did wrong. But the guilt I felt mixed with the desire to save him made up for a bad combo and although the idea of simply giving him up to die still doesn’t sit well with me, I know I made a rash and wrong decision that could have cost us much more, like you said. It could have condemned all of us to death and if that would have happened, he would still have died, he would only have taken us with him,” Clarke said and Lexa nodded, agreeing.

“I am glad to know you can see it this way. It will help with time lessen the guilt you may still feel over his actions,” Lexa said encouragingly. Clarke smiled.

“I don’t know if I ever said this, probably not since I can be pretty self-absorbed and ungrateful and a straight up bitch, but thank you. I know you knew I had a knife on me and that when I ask to say goodbye, I was planning on mercy killing him, yet you let me do it anyway. To know that I could stop him from suffering till death was something I really needed to do and you let me. I don’t know why but thank you anyway,” Clarke said with the utmost sincerity in her voice.

“I let you do it Clarke because when our situations were reversed, I had hoped I could have mercy-killed Costia as well. I didn’t have the chance to help someone I loved to avoid a painful death. I could at least give you that chance,” Lexa explained and Clarke understood the girl in front of her and her heart constricted at what pain Lexa might have suffered knowing what Costia went through and the knowledge she could have done nothing to help. Lexa downed her drink before she looked up at Clarke and asked

“Should we talk about the next subject?”


	44. Fixing it, Finally

“And pray tell, what subject could that be?” Clarke said as she pushed her glass forward while Lexa picked up the bottle and filled it before filling her own and looking up at the blonde.

“You choose the next one,” Lexa said as Clarke looked up her, trying to think of something before she gave a small smile.

“I know we will have to breach the subject of the Mountain but maybe we could have a lighter topic now before we get to that one?" Lexa nodded therfore Clarke continued, "So tell me, why did you confesses your feelings to me? Why say it? Why not just keep it quiet to yourself? No offense but you like to bottle your feelings up and put them in boxes instead of acting accordingly to them,” Clarke said, and Lexa smiled.

She agreed that after the emotionally heavy moment they had talking about Finn, jumping straight to the Mountain was too much so she agreed to go with the proposed subject.

“To be honest with you, I don’t know. I didn’t take offense because although I don’t understand the box reference, you are right. I do push my emotions away unless it is necessarily for my work to deal with them and since it rarely is, I don’t get in touch with it as much as you do. So, to say what helped me and prompted me to tell you about my feelings is still unknown to me. I think that I just couldn’t keep it in any longer,” Lexa said shrugging it.

“I, for one, am glad for that. I won’t say I didn’t already think there was something there between us but I didn’t want to assume then be wrong about it and make a fool out of myself, so I am glad you did it,” Clarke said and Lexa smiled.

“Why did you kiss me back and then rejected me?” Lexa asked her and Clarke shook her head.

“I have never rejected any of your romantic advances, Lexa. But the moment you are talking about specifically was not a good moment for me, like at all. I had just killed and lost Finn, I had just let a bomb drop on a village killing 250 innocent people. I had to plan a war against a powerful enemy while in the middle of your people directing their hate towards me. I had just sent one of my friends to what possibly could be his death, I was worried about my friends inside the mountain if I would be able to get them out.

And all of a sudden, you drop this bomb on me and you made me feel so much that if I didn’t take a step back, I had no idea how I would take a step forward and that was what everyone needed from me. So, the thing is I had no choice but to, not reject, simply postpone things between us for later when we had won, everyone was safe and things had settled down. That is all. I never rejected you, it is not possible for me to do that when I want you so damn much all the goddamn time,” Clarke said sincerely, the last past said as a matter of fact making Lexa chuckle on it.

“I, for one, am glad for that information. It is very good to hear you say that since I share the same feelings in regard to you,” Lexa said making Clarke smile as they talked about other light hearted subject, even joking and playing with each other for a while before they both took on a more serious expression knowing what was coming ahead.

The one topic in all the moments they had been together that they didn’t discuss. Clarke briefly asked Lexa if she would have done the same choice and forgave her for the previous one, but they never truly talked about what that choice made them feel. How they each broke inside by it or even how to move forward from that as a couple. But now that they were broaching the subjects they needed to discuss, they would not coward from that one. And with that in mind, Clarke broke the silence between them, not only now but the silence between them about this particular subject as well.

“That night by the Mountain’s door, it never crossed my mind that you would betray me,” Clarke said as she looked in Lexa’s eyes, who despite her guilt and remorse refused to offend Clarke by cowering from her gaze and looked right back at her, “Until the moment I reached Camp Jaha and saw everyone go inside after what I had done, I still didn’t believe that you had done that. I still believed you would appear and show me that you would stay by my side. That you would share the burden with me.”

“But I didn’t,” Lexa replied as Clarke nodded her head.

“You didn’t. I know we hadn’t known each other that long. It had been only days since we started working together but beyond the kiss, there was something between us since the moment I entered your tent and we looked at each other. I know you know that,” Clarke said.

Lexa nodded her head at her girlfriend, “I know and there was.”

“And despite everything that happened in our lives before that moment that warned us not to trust anyone, we still trusted each other. I know I trusted you and judging by the fact that you told me about Costia, I think I’m right in believing you trusted me too,” Clarke spoke before looking at Lexa, who nodded her head answering the unspoken question that yes, she had trusted the blonde from the moment she saw her.

“So, we had this connection, this trust between us and just before the battle, you kiss me. And now comes the only question I have about that night,” Clarke said as Lexa waited nervously for it. Clarke then with tears in her eyes finally asked her question, “I can understand the Commander betraying and leaving the Sky girl behind, but how could Lexa betray and leave Clarke? How could you just walk away from me? How could **you** leave **me** behind?”

Lexa was not expecting the incredible weight of that question. She had imagined a thousand other things Clarke could have asked her about but not that one and she could feel her own emotions acting up at thinking about how much she, Lexa has hurt Clarke with her actions that night? Not talking about leaving the Sky people, but leaving Clarke? Lexa took a deep breath before she looked Clarke in the eye and the sight of the hurt the blonde had because of that threatened to crush her, but she owed an answer to Clarke and she would give it to her.

“I don’t know how Clarke. I never did. Until this day, I don’t know where I got the strength to walk away from you. What I can tell is the why I did,” Lexa let out a sigh before she continued, “I was trained to be the Commander since I was really young and you may think that the first thing we learn is that Love is weakness or that to be Commander is to be alone but it’s not.

The first thing we learn is that we don’t matter as individuals. That if we wish to be a good Commander our wishes, our dreams, our opinions, everything must always come second to the wishes, the dreams, the opinions that will benefit our people first and foremost. What the Commander wants must always be the priority over what Lexa wants. Rarely in my time has those two wants aligned themselves in harmony and the only time what Lexa wanted became the priority, Costia lost her life for it. So that is why I left you that night. Because what Lexa wanted was to stay but what the Commander demanded was to leave and so I did.”

Clarke had listened to her girlfriend and could only imagine what it was like having to grow up that way. It must have been hard. “How much did it hurt you to leave?”

Lexa chuckled but without any humor into it. “It was by far the hardest thing I have ever had to do in my life, and it didn’t hurt me to leave you Clarke. It broke me. It shattered my heart to pieces, especially when I learned of what you had to do to save your people and I need you to know that if I could have stayed, I would have never let you burden that yourself. I would have never let you pull that lever, at all. And you? How much did it hurt you when I left?

Clarke took a deep breath at that question before she braved herself to answer it honestly, the same way Lexa did. It’s what the brunette deserved.

“I tore me apart so much that for the longest time I couldn’t even think about you without having a panic attack, hyperventilating and everything. The knowledge of what I had done brought me shame and disgust with myself for being able to murder an entire civilization, children, innocents, for knowing that if I had to do it again, I would. But thinking about you and the betrayal brought me a sense of despair I had never felt before. Thinking about you back then only served to bring me pain,” Clarke answered as sincerely as she possibly could. Learning of that was not easy for Lexa but she remained supportive.

“I can’t say sorry for protecting my people and choosing their best interest instead of staying with your people and with you but what I can apologize for is how much I hurt you with that decision. It was not easy for me, but I can only imagine the true grasp of how hard it was for you so for all that you suffered, I am sorry Clarke. So very sorry,” Lexa said with emotion in her voice as Clarke wiped the few tears that had fallen down her face.

“I know Lexa and now, I can say that I forgive you. Not for choosing your people over mine because you are right. That was your duty and you fulfilled it, I have nothing to reproach you for that, but I forgive you for hurting me with it, even if I know it was unintentionally. Truth is I forgave you the moment I saw you when Roan took me to you but holding onto to my anger was the only thing I could think of to protect my feelings and my heart from the possibility of being crushed by you again. But now, I don’t feel that need anymore. Now, I can only feel love for you and as far as I am concerned, I am more than ready to put the Mountain behind us,” Clarke said firmly as Lexa smiled at her girlfriend’s determination.

She knew that Clarke would have said what she did if she didn’t feel it. She wouldn’t have said she forgave Lexa if she really hadn’t done it already. And to be honest, Lexa was sick and tired of what happened at the Mountain and she was more than ready to put that far behind them in the other timeline which is exactly where it belongs. It has no place in this new reality of theirs. This was a new beginning and although it did good to discuss, there was no need to bring that up between them, unless necessary. Lexa readily agreed with the blonde.

“Now, should we get to the points that brought this conversation on then? Everything that happened after the Mountain until Praimfaya?” Lexa said to the blonde who sighed after swallowing the content on her cup.

“Go ahead. I guess in this matter you have more to say about than I do,” Clarke said to her and the both knew it was true.

Lexa sighed nodding her head before she began speaking, “You have to know that leaving you in that Mountain was my biggest regret. I know I had no other choice, but I regret at least not coming back myself to help you. I know that like you said right now, you already forgave me for it. I also know that you know that there was no other choice for me at that time, that I did what I needed to do to save my people. The problem of that is that it took my dying for you to see things like that.”

Clarke tensed as she felt that last part slapping her in the facet. She couldn’t help her reaction. What Lexa just said was the truth, only after Lexa died and Clarke had more time to think when she was alone in her room, only then she realized all of that and she sighed.

“I know and I feel terrible about it.” Clarke said looking at her girlfriend.

“I did everything in my powers to be respectful of your wishes not to see me or anything else you wanted for the matter, to help you and your people with whatever I could, but you would dismiss me and my actions, especially my feelings time and time again and it hurt Clarke. It hurt to be treated that way by you,” Lexa admitted and Clarke closed her eyes knowing that they were finally being completely honest with one another.

“I understood that you were angry and hurt by my actions but most of all by your own that night and you needed someone to be your punching bag and I submitted myself to that role in hopes that in doing so I would be able to atone for my part in leaving you like that but I am not a machine, Clarke. As much as I had liked to pretend I didn’t, I do have feelings and they get hurt as well.” Lexa said and Clarke felt a tear roll down her face.

“I know. Back then I needed a punching bag, someone I could throw all my anger at and I knew that you would be the only one who would take it, no questions asked, no reproach. You would let me unload it on you so my burden could be lighter and I took advantage of that to hurt you. But that was low and despicable. It was not fair. It was selfish, cruel and I feel terribly guilty about. You didn’t deserve the way I treated you. I was a horrible person and I am so very sorry for all of it. I wish I could take it all back,” Clarke said to her sincerely.

“Although yes, your treatment of me was selfish and cruel, I have forgiven you for it. I know you and I know you are not that person. I just thought that it was needed for the subject to be broached so we don’t repeat that mistake again. I am here for you Clarke, you don’t need to hurt me for me to share your burdens. I will always do it because I love you,” Lexa explained it to her. Clarke nodded reaching out across the table, putting her hand on top of Lexa’s.

“I promise I will try my best to never dump my frustrations on you like that ever again. You don’t deserve and I don’t deserve you. Period. However, I promise that from this day on I will try the hardest to be the kind of person you deserve. I am so sorry. I love you so, so much,” Clarke said determinately as Lexa nodded her head while squeezing her girlfriend’s hand.

“And the other topic would be Bellamy. Are you sure you don’t have feelings for him? That you don’t have the desire to be with him? That there is nothing romantic between you two even if you are not aware of it?” Lexa finally asked straight out what she had been asking herself in the other life.

“Of course not, I don’t have feelings for him. No, I don’t have any desire to be with him and there is most certainly nothing romantic about us, for Christ’s sake. Bellamy is one of my best friends. Is it so hard to picture that a man and a woman can be just friends? That it doesn’t always mean there are feelings involved on either side? Is it so hard to imagine that?” Clarke asked truly curious about the answer.

She understood thanks to Raven and Murphy that sometimes the connection she had with Bellamy could have been misunderstood as something more than friendship, but that confusion was always made by everyone else. The two of them always knew what was going between them, always knew they were only just friends, nothing else ever came up between them on either side because their friendship was not about that. Ever. They worked so well together especially because there was nothing romantic between them.

“Bellamy is my friend and that is all there ever was or ever will be between us. What I do want to know is why are you so jealous of him?” Clarke asked her directly.

Lexa looked at her before she answered the blonde’s question. “Because there is nothing you wouldn’t do for him or no one you wouldn’t sacrifice for him.”

Clarke sighed as she finally understood what it was all about. “I didn’t know that by asking you to spare his life after he helped Pike massacre your people, I would be putting yours in danger. If I had known,”

“If you had known you would do what? Choose me? We are being honest Clarke. If you had to choose one of us to save, would you really choose me over him?” Lexa asked her, frowning.

Clarke looked at her straight in the eyes and nodded. “Yes, I would choose you. Because I had to spend two months in a world where you were dead and nothing could compare to that pain. I would hate to lose him but if it came down to it, yes. I would choose you over him and it hurts me to think that you still doubt that.”

“Try to see it from my point of view, Clarke. Ever since I met you, the concern and complicity you had shown him right up till the day I died, it couldn’t be ignored. Roan told me how when Bellamy found you, you begged Roan to spare his life. I think he suspect of my feelings for you and wanted to taunt me because of me breaking our deal. The only two times you treated me the same way you treated Bellamy was when I had to fight Roan and when I was dying. How would you feel in my place?” Lexa tried to explain and Clarke understood her.

“And that you feel that way is entirely my fault because I didn’t show you how much you really meant for me, how much I cared about you but Bellamy has nothing to do with that, not then and certainly not now. We are still friends but it’s not the same which I am trying to see as a good thing because our friendship wasn’t a good example of a healthy one. But what really matters is that I love you. I have always loved you and that is not going to change.” Clarke said as she looked at Lexa.

“You are the only one who can make my heart beat faster with excitement just by thinking of you. You are the only one who has seen the darkest corners of my soul, yet you still understood and accepted it without blinking an eye. You are the one who made me believe in myself and find a strength I never knew I had. You are the one who makes me tremble on my feet with just your voice. You are the one who shake me to my core with just one touch. You are the one who makes my heart want to burst with just one kiss.” Clarke said getting up from her chair and going towards Lexa, swinging a leg on the other side to straddle the girl.

“You are the one for me and although I did a terrible job at showing it to you back then, I will most definitely make sure that you always know just how much I crave you, need you, want you. Love you. I am here to stay Lexa. Beyond whatever mission I was given, I know I am here to be with you. Our love is special and although most of the reason behind the scars we have is because of me, I believe in us like I never believed in anything else in my life. I am here to be your girlfriend, your best friend, your lover, your wife, your kwin, anything you need. And if you will have me, if you can find in your heart to forgive me and give me a chance to do that, I will prove to you every day that there isn’t anyone in this world that can ever compete with you when it comes to my heart,” She said kissing the brunette before pulling back.

“I feel the same way about you Clarke. You do all those things to me and more. And there is no if. This was just something we needed to do to carry on with our lives, but I have forgiven you. And I love and want you in a way I have never loved or wanted anyone else in my life. You are the one for me, Clarke. Always has been, always will be.” Lexa said to the girl who smiled and didn’t waste time before leaning down to connect their lips in a heated kiss before things escalated and the couple soon lost themselves in each other, catching up on the time they had spent apart, showing their love was stronger than anything thrown their way.


	45. Few Couples' moments

Bellamy dropped to the side of the bed panting and sweaty all over as he adjusted the sheets to cover himself meanwhile Echo chuckled, also panting and sweaty as they just finished going yet another round of what they would describe as amazing and mind-blowing sex. Bellamy stared at the ceiling of the tent as Echo turned her head to the side to look at him before twisting her body to lie on her side so she could truly face him and finally, after feeling her eyes boring into him, Bellamy turned to look at her as well.

“What is it? Is something wrong?” He asked her concerned about her silence.

She shook her head, “No, nothing is wrong. You are actually pretty good at this. Better than I expected, I must admit.”

“Well, I appreciate the compliment. You are not so bad yourself. Better than I expected, I must admit,” He said chuckling and she scoffed at him.

“Oh please, I’m by far the best sex you ever had and don’t even try to deny it. It’s written all over your face now the same way it was ten minutes ago,” She said to him and he laughed.

“If you say so, then I guess it must be true.” He said to her and she laughed along with him before it died down and Echo closed her eyes. After some time in silence, he raised his arm to his head and spoke, not even sure she wasn’t asleep. “I never had a significant person before,” He said out of nowhere and Echo, who was not asleep, opened her eyes to look at the side of his face who was once back facing the ceiling.

“Why not? I assume there were a lot of girls after you. You are quite handsome,” She asked him really curious. He sighed.

“Because whoever I dated would have to know about Octavia and I never trusted anyone with her secret, so I never let anyone get too close to me. It was safer for everyone involved,” He said out loud. Echo raised her hand and started to caress his bare chest and watched as goosebumps appeared where she had just touched.

“Then, it is because you were doing the right thing for your family. There is nothing wrong with that. It’s actually quite noble of you to give up everything to keep your sister safe,” She said to him, the knowledge making her see him in a different light.

“I always tried to do the right thing and the one time I failed, I lost my mom and Octavia was arrested. Even after she was sent to prison, I still couldn’t let go of the fear that anything would happen to her, that they would float her so I never really relaxed, not until we were down here at least,” He explained as he raised his other hand and captured hers, trapping it right above his heart, keeping it there.

“What happened down here?” She asked him curious about what has happened to him ever since he fell from the Sky.

“Here, I knew that the council could not hurt her or float her anymore so finally I was able to relax. I had my first time here actually, with one of the girls who came down with us, of course I didn’t tell her I was a virgin before. But even down here, I wasn’t able to truly feel a connection with anyone. They were too young or too annoying or too clingy and besides sex, there was nothing else I liked about them. Until I met you,” He turned his head to look at her.

“Within that time where we were in those cells next to each other and you helped me kill that guard, I felt more connected to you than I have ever felt connected with anyone else before in my life. And I know that you are a spy for a clan that has a really bad reputation and that you could easily be manipulating me for information, but I will trust you until you prove me wrong. I just really hope I wasn’t alone in feeling this way and that this isn’t all stuff from my head,” He said to her in one breath, sighing before looking back up at the ceiling.

Echo felt surprised with the things he just said to her. Yes, he was right. Her Queen would probably try to exploit whatever was that they had for her own advantage, to learn as much as she could about the new clans’ weakness and in any other circumstance Echo would be willing to do it, but now as she looked at him after everything he just said and this whole day that they spent together, she didn’t want to do it. She wouldn’t let her Queen destroy whatever it was beginning to happen between them and she certainly didn’t want to ever see Bellamy get hurt because of her so she reached out and pulled his face to look at her again.

“You’re not alone in this. I feel it too and I want this as much as you do. There are no second intentions from me, nothing that happened between us has been anything other than what I wanted to happen. I could be spying on you, but I am not. I like you a lot and I don’t want to put this, whatever it is in jeopardy so you can trust me,” Echo said to him and

He nodded looking at her while being unable to stop the smile from showing on his face, “I trust you and I like you too.” She smiled before she lifted his arm and settled herself against his side, laying with her head on his chest.

“As good as you are in bed, I am super tired. We should go to sleep,” She said to him and closed her eyes before she felt him release a deep breath and his arm wrap around her pulling her even closer as he kissed her forehead.

“Good night Echo,” He said closing his eyes.

“Good night Bellamy,” She replied, and it took them no time at all to fall asleep completely intertwined and closer than ever before.

After spending much time in the party, dancing, drinking and mingling with others leaders, generals and important people, and after trying to help Lexa and the Sky girl make up, Anya and Tori finally decided to call it a night and went back to their house, with Anya locking the door behind her before she went and sat down on the couch while Tori went to the kitchen to drink some water to counteract the effect of the alcohol they consumed all night long, trying to avoid a hangover the next day.

“ **Do you think that those two are okay now?** ” Tori called for her wife from the kitchen as Anya removed her boots and her jacket.

“ **I don’t know, Tori. I hope so or else Lexa will continue to be in a foul mood and I will continue to pay the price for that** ,” Anya answered her and leaned back against the couch.

“ **Yeah, even with Costia I had never seen her so in love. It was like being apart from Clarke was hurting her more than a sword through her body would have** ,” Tori said as she appeared at the kitchen entrance and leaned against one of the walls.

“ **Yes. I’m afraid that if Titus had a problem with Costia’s minimal influence on Lexa’s personal life, he will have a fit with Clarke’s gigantic influence on Lexa’s personal and working life,** ” The general said as she accepted a glass of water from her wife who joined her on the couch.

“ **Do you think that he will create trouble for them?** ” Tori asked already picturing the sight of the bald man seeing the two girls interact with one another and shook her head.

“ **Do you think he won’t? The man has been teaching her that ‘Love is Weakness’ since she can remember. He will do everything he can to break them apart** ,” Anya said seriously since she knew him well enough to be able to say that with such certainty.

“ **How I wish that Lexa could just send him away. It would be so much better for her if Gaia was the Flamekeeper instead of that man. At least the two of them are friends and she can be more accepting of the changes Lexa wants to implement than he ever will. Besides, she wouldn’t actually try to meddle in Lexa’s personal life** ,” Tori said taking a sip of her water.

“ **Yes, but we know that even if she wanted to, it would be hard to simply toss him aside given how long he has served as Flamekeeper** ,” Anya said not liking that fact any more than her wife did. They both truly disliked Titus, to say the least.

They both met Titus way before Lexa even became Commander obviously and way before the girl even became Anya’s second but even then, from the first meeting, neither woman had liked the older man even one bit. They had respected him as his position demanded but further than that, they had wanted him gone. Anya was suspicious of him especially with his interest in Lexa since the early days and Tori flat out disliked him claiming that there was a certain controlling nature in him that she didn’t like and wanted away from Lexa.

However, he was the current Flamekeeper, having been on the jobs for four commanders, five counting with Lexa and there was nothing either one of them could do about him. Only Lexa had the power to act against the Flamekeeper or the Order without any repercussion to her since she was above them in power but everyone else tried anything and would be killed on the spot. So there had been nothing either one of them could do about his presence in Lexa’s life especially because she had liked the man, he had been her teacher and she was always his favorite so they had to suck it up but now perhaps, things will start to change.

“ **Well, from what she told us, she is not so keen on keeping him close too, as least not for long. So I am counting that as a win already. It is more than time for her to start cutting ties with him and possibly looking forward to replace him like you said with Gaia maybe** ,” Anya said putting her cup on the table by the side of the couch.

“ **May the Spirit listen to you and get him away from all of us once and for all** ,” Tori said hoping that Lexa would finally get rid of him, “ **You know I am happy that she found someone. She didn’t deserve to think she should be forever alone**.”

“ **Yeah, me too. I am glad she won’t make the same mistake I did and come close to losing the girl before finally realizing what she was doing wrong** ,” Anya said looking at Tori who smiled.

“ **Just be happy it wasn’t too late on your case or else we would not be here right now** ,” Tori said teasingly as she also got rid of her cup and Anya nodded.

“ **I am very happy to have you. I love you** ,” Anya said looking straight into her wife’s hazel eyes, one of her most beautiful features in Anya’s opinion.

“ **I love you too and I want you so much right now** ,” Tori said slyly and didn’t waste any time before moving to straddle Anya’s hip as they kissed and clothes started to fly everywhere around the room as they readjusted themselves and Tori leaned back against the couch with Anya on top of her and they had their very own celebration of the beginning of the end for Titus and for the actual end of the Mountain terror.

Meanwhile in another part of the village, Wells and Jessica had stayed back to enjoy the party, especially Jessica who not very long ago was trapped inside the Mountain. She wanted to enjoy her freedom as much as she could and Wells, being the amazing boyfriend that he was, was more than happy to go along for the ride. So, they were dancing to the music as they drank and watched other people do the same. It was quite a nice moment to have everyone together like this, with no deaths looming over their heads, having one night to enjoy being alive, at least that’s what it was for the couple.

“I wish my mom had been alive to see this place. She would have loved it, would have worried about me but she would have loved it,” Wells said as they swayed to the music with his arms around Jessica’s waist and hers around his neck.

“I wish I could have met her. From what you told me, she seemed like a very nice woman,” Jessica said in her boyfriend’s ear. They had only talked about his mom once or twice, it was not his favorite topic of conversation despite the number of years she has been gone for.

“She was much nicer than my dad is, that’s for sure. But she would have loved you very much. That is one thing that I do know,” He said wistfully as he remembered his mother.

“Did you notice the looks Clarke was giving the Commander all night long?” Jessica asked her boyfriend curious and he smiled nodding his head.

“Yeah, I saw it. It was kind of obvious that there is something going on with those two and I mean in the romantic kind of way. I can’t believe how there is people who hasn’t noticed it yet,” He said to her matter-of-factly and she couldn’t help but nod.

“Even though I was not here to see how they were in the beginning, I can see that there is something there really deep between them. I would even call it love,” She said to him and he nodded, having already thought about it while agreeing with her.

“As her oldest friend, I just hope that Clarke knows what she is doing and that she gets to be happy, she deserves it very much and I want that for her even if it is with the most powerful person in the planet,” Weels said and

Jessica chuckled at the last part even though it is the truth, “You’re right. She deserves and from what I could see the Commander looked at her the same way, so I think that whatever is going on, they do know what they are doing and are enjoying it to the max.”

Jessica Thompson was a 17 year-old girl, tan skinned tone, long black hair, hazel eyes. She was an only child whose father died when she was 3 and mother died when she was 15. They were not part of the up high seats of the Ark, they were middle class and below. Completely unimportant. She doubted the Council even knew they existed. But she always been proud of her parents and for being their daughter, her mother was an amazing person and she was told by the woman herself that her father was a very honorable man despite their poor condition so she always tried to make them proud by being the best person she possibly could.  

As she thought about her past, she had never thought that one day she would be in a committed relationship with the son of the Chancellor. Jessica has had a crush on Wells ever since she was fifteen. Some guy was bullying her after she lost her mother and Wells had helped her and had stayed with her until she was feeling better and from that moment on, she started seeing him in a different light but he was always with Clarke so she thought they were together and that she would never have a chance with him. It seemed so farfetched that her crush on their leader’s handsome son would ever be more than just a crush, but it was real and she was so very happy with him that she knew it was time.

“I know that it may be too soon and it may freak you out,” Jessica started saying and Wells pulled to look at her with a frown on his face, “but I just wanted to say that I love you,” She said to him and his eyes were wide open in surprise. “I know that it’s a lot and that you may not feel the same but at least you know how I feel,”

They looked at each other’s eyes and Wells could feel the smile that was threatening to come out on his face as he replied to her confession, “Hey, it’s not too much or too soon and I am not freaking out. It’s okay and it’s perfect because I love you too,” He said to her and watched her reaction as she seemed really shocked to hear those words from him.

“You do?” She asked him, not trusting her ears yet.

“Yes, I do. I am sorry it took me this long to say it to you. I was waiting for the right moment, but this is perfect,” He said to her, pulled her close as they came together in a heated kiss.

It started out slow as they poured this new feeling they were discovering with each other and into the kiss and once they tasted it, they didn’t want to stop. But they knew that they needed to find somewhere private so they could do what they had in mind. And once they looked at each other and saw their desire reflected on each other, they pulled back and put their cups on the table and walked away from the party had in hand through the streets trying to get to the houses they were in and once they did, it was too long that they got to the bedroom and spent the night exploring each other with love in every kiss and touch.


	46. Cuddling

Clarke slowly opened her eyes as the sun rays started to enter through the room in which they were in. Clarke focused in what was around her and the first thing she realized or better yet, the only thing she could feel was a warm body pressed against her back and an arm draped over her waist. She couldn’t help but to smile once the memories of what happened the night before finally came into the forefront of her mind as she intertwined their fingers together and thought about everything the two of them had talked about the night before.

It wasn’t an easy conversation, not by far but a conversation they needed to have anyway, and Clarke was so unbelievably glad they did it. Lexa had been right when she had said that they had many things to solve through from their previous lifetime. They couldn’t just pretend that they didn’t have any baggage between them, not even counting the ones they already had from before they even met. Although many things had been changed since Clarke and the others returned to change the timeline, at least for the five of them what they had lived was still part of their memories, part of who they were, who they had become.

As much as they wished they could just forget some of the things that they have lived or not, done or done not, said or not, they couldn’t. Even if he was alive here, Raven couldn’t forget the pain of losing Finn first to himself and later to death by Clarke’s hand, of losing her mind to ALIE, of what happened to her leg. Murphy couldn’t forget the torture, the banishment, being stuck in that bunker place  for three months. Kane couldn’t forget the culling, losing Callie, being with her mother. Lexa couldn’t forget Pike, Nia, losing Anya, Gustus, dying. And Clarke couldn’t forget any of what happened to her.

Losing her Dad, being imprisoned, accusing her best friend of lying to her and betraying her in the worst possible way causing the death of her father, getting sent down to die, losing Wells because of a misunderstand, Charlotte killing Wells and then killing herself, what she did to Murphy, sleeping with Finn and finding out about Raven, the culling, Finn’s injury, Lincoln’s torture, the meeting with Anya, the exodus ship, losing Tris, the battle on the dropship, Anya’s death, Finn’s massacre, meeting Lexa, killing Finn, Gustus’ trap, the Pauna, the bomb, the battle of Mount Weather, her massacre, the Mountain’s explosion, Bellamy’s massacre.

Lexa’s death, the nightbloods massacre, ALIE taking over Arkadia, Raven being mind-controlled, dealing with Jasper, dealing with Luna, her mother’s torture, the City of Light, and everything else that happened until Praimfaya. As much as she wanted to, she would never forget all of that she lived even if her reality now was completely different than it had been before and now, after their talk, she understood that the same went for Lexa. Everything the brunette had lived before stayed with her and to move forward, they had to address their previous issues so they could work through it and move on, forward as a couple.

Maybe they haven’t talked about everything they needed to address, but they got the biggest issues out of the way and could move forward from them now. In the future, they would have time to go over the smaller things and deal with them as well because all she did know for certain was that none of those issues would make her give up on working hard for their relationship, for their love. It would not be easy but Clarke would not give up on them and she knew Lexa wouldn’t either so she let a smile grace her face at the thought of everything they had already conquered together.

All the obstacles that life had thrown their way had in one way or another tried to push them apart but all they did was bringing them together again and closer than they had ever been before. Even death was not strong enough to keep them apart for too long, it was obvious that they needed to be together. They need each other. They were meant to be with each other, and Clarke would work every day to make sure that she didn’t screw up this second chance like she did with the first one. She would make sure this time they made their life to be about more than just surviving. That they got to live.

“I can hear you thinking all the way from here,” A voice, hoarse from the sleep, said by her ear with the breath on her neck and Clarke, though a little surprised not having noticed that Lexa had woken up, only tightened her hold on the brunette’s hand pulling her even closer by the arm draped around her waist.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you up. I just woke up and couldn’t go back to sleep,” Clarke said apologetically, and a kiss was deposited on her right shoulder as she closed her eyes at the feel of Lexa’s lips on her bare skin.

“You didn’t wake me up, _niron_. I’m an early riser. But would you mind sharing what is going on in that beautiful mind of yours or do you want to stay in silence? I’m okay with either option,” Lexa whispered, and Clarke sighed deeply making the older girl slightly worried.

“I was just thinking that it was good for us to have talked things out last night. There were a lot of things that went on between us, in both timelines that have lead us to this point and we can’t just ignore it or try to run from it,” Clarke said to the girl and Lexa sighed as well.

“I am glad we talked about it too. We had much to discuss but no matter what we said, I always want you to remember that I love you and we can work though anything as long as we do it together,” Lexa said as she kissed Clarke’s shoulder once again who closed her eyes.

“Can I ask you a very difficult and personal question which you are absolutely allowed to not answer? Though if you don’t answer it, it would be like you already answered it?” Clarke asked as she turned around in bed until she was face to face with Lexa.

“You mean a question in which even my silence can be already an answer?” Lexa asked and Clarke nodded her head. She had thought this question for a very long time and judged now was the best moment to ask it. “Go ahead,” Lexa said and Clarke took a deep breath.

“I know that it is safe to say for me that Finn could have never posed any threat to our relationship if he had not died as I have proven that already, so what I want to ask you is if Costia had not died, would we be here today together? Would I have a chance with you if she hadn’t died?” Clarke asked Lexa and the brunette took a deep breath.

“You have been wondering this for a long time, haven’t you? I can see that you put some thought into it,” Lexa said and although she didn’t give an answer and instead just asked another question, Clarke decided to answer her anyway.

“Yes, I have. Not only here but in the Valley and in the OGTL too. It’s just I could see the pain and the longing in your eyes when you talked about her and I couldn’t help but wonder, if she had been alive if you would have loved me or been with me,” She explained and Lexa nodded.

“Well, I had asked myself that question since the moment you came into my life, so I do have an answer and it is yes, we would be here today even if Costia had been alive. We were destined for one another and I believe that,” Lexa said firmly and Clarke looked her in the eyes.

“You’re sure?” Clarke asked. She was happy to know that she was so important to Lexa and that the feeling they had for each other want the results of loneliness from either side.

They weren’t with each other because the people they really wanted to be with were dead, because the first option wasn’t available, almost like being each other’s rebound. They were with each other because they wanted to be. Because they fell in love and nothing and no one could have changed that for them. Costia and Finn were people they had loved but not people they were meant to spend their lives with so with or without them, Clarke felt good knowing that they would still be as in love and cuddling just as they were now.

“Of course. Why would you doubt that?” Lexa asked and Clarke sighed in relief by the brunette answer and tense because of her question.

“It isn’t that I doubted it. I know you love me and I love you. It was just that I wanted you to confirm that our love would have happened in any circumstance and not just the one we found ourselves in. That no matter what world we found ourselves in, we would always end up here,” Clarke explained and Lexa nodded her head.

“Of course. Do you really think we would have been given the chance to do things over if our love wasn’t so important? We were chosen because of our love, its strength to overcome any obstacle,” Lexa said and Clarke couldn’t help but smile at her girlfriend’s word.

“Well, if you say so, who am I to go against you?” Clarke said as she moved forward and maneuvered herself until she was lying down practically on top of Lexa who was not complaining about it and safely to say, they stretched out their night activities and enjoyed another round of lovemaking. Both of them could affirm that they had never been happier in their lives and it would be absolutely true.

In finding each other, they found themselves and they both knew that their love was so big and so strong that they could overcome anything. Which is why some time after that when they had finished taking their breakfast, Clarke had gotten up from her chair and moved to sit down on Lexa’s lap as they talked about the Commander’s impending trip back to her capital to oversee any of the problems that may have arisen in her absence as well as move forward with their plan so she can make sure that they won’t be apart again.

“I know you have to leave and go to Polis but I don’t want you to. We just got together after a couple of days apart,” Clarke said as she wrapped her arms around Lexa’s neck while the brunette wrapped her around the blonde’s waist to keep her safely in place.

“I know, my love and I don’t want to be away from you either. It is torture if these past two days had been an indication but I have to go, not only for my people but for us as well so that we can have the future we want,” Lexa said pleadingly and Clarke nodded.

“I know and I would not ask you to stay but I can say that I am going to miss you so much. I think I will have to start thinking about what I can do to keep myself busy during that time so that I don’t spend every minute thinking about how I wish you were here with me,” Clarke said as she looked at Lexa’s eyes and saw the same love she felt reflected on those jade eyes.

“I know but with the radio Raven said she would provide us with, we will be able to talk to each other, at least at night, every day until we meet again. And after I come back, we will not be apart again because when I return, it will be to take you with me to Polis to be the Skaikru’s ambassador, before we can finally turn you into my Kwin,” Lexa replied with a smile on her face and at first so did Clarke before it disappeared and she frowned.

Lexa noticed the change in expression on her girlfriend’s face and it worried her, “What is it? Is something wrong?”

Clarke looked back at her before taking a deep breath and spoke, “We talked about many things, but we didn’t talk about the fight we had. I think we have to.”

“You’re right. Let’s get to the couch and we can talk it there. At least we will be comfortable,” Lexa said agreeing with her and once they cleaned up the kitchen they moved to the couch. Clarke sat down with her knees up to her chest while Lexa sat down facing her before the silence was broken by the brunette, “Do you want to start?”

“I do. I want to apologize. I shouldn’t have berated you for fighting and I sure as hell shouldn’t have run away from you because of it. But I want to explain why I did those things,” Clarke said before she continued, “You have no idea what watching you die in front of me without being able to do anything to save you did to me. It was the worst moment of my life, by far. It didn’t just break me, it destroyed me and although I tried to push it far away from my mind, so much that I tried to minimize what I felt for you by sleeping around with Niylah.

Which is something I deeply regret. Another thing I shouldn’t have done but the point I am trying to make is seeing you die traumatized me. Sometimes if I close my eyes, I can relieve that moment as if it was happening now and that was what happened when you were fighting. All I could see was the bullet wound and the blood, black sipping through it and you breathing your last breath. And talking with Anya and Tori has made me realize that this is not the first and it won’t be the last time you will find yourself in a life or death situation.

They also made me realize that to be with you, I need to learn how to accept that. That you will always be in danger. That I will always be worried and that I can’t balme you for it, that I need to support you and I will. I will always be there for you, no matter how terrified I am, I will always support you, I will always be on the sidelines even if it is to watch you fight someone to death. I am here for all of it. The good and specially the bad,” Clarke said pouring her heart out and Lexa couldn’t help but be in awe of the girl before she herself started talking.

“You weren’t the only one at fault here. I can’t even begin to imagine what it must be like for you having to see me so close to losing my life after watching it happen. I can barely think of something happening to you without feeling like I am losing my mind. I was insensitive to your feelings and just expected you to understand and be okay with it, but you don’t have to be, Clarke. Yes, you do need to accept that danger is and will always be a part of my reality, but you don’t have to be okay with it. You are allowed to be upset and angry.

I know that if the roles were reversed, I would be. Your feelings are valid, and I am sorry I made you feel like they weren’t. I am sorry for not going after you, for not making more of an effort to fix things between they escalated to the point where it had gotten. And as for Niylah, I told you already. I am not angry or betrayed or anything of the kind because you sought her for comfort after I died. I told you that after Costia died, I slept with more people than I can remember. I am the last person who will judge you for that,” Lexa explained her side.

Clarke smiled at her before she moved forward on the couch until she was very close to Lexa, almost curling up to her as she spoke looking at her girlfriend’s eyes with nothing but love and gratitude shining in them, “You are the only person who has never judged me for anything had said or done. And although, sometimes, it may even be warranted, thank you for never doing it. You don’t know what having you in my corner means to me.”

Lexa smiled at her before circling Clarke’s waist with her arms and pulling the girl almost on top of her, but close enough for only a breath be what separated their lips before she whispered, “You have nothing to thank me for. I love you and I will always be in your corner, whatever that might mean.”

The couple chuckled at that before they pulled back a little to stare in each other’s eyes before Clarke was the first one to break the spell with a whispered, “I love you so much.”

Lexa followed right after with the most sincere, “I love you just as much.”

With that being said, Clarke wasted no time before connecting their lips and moving forward, swinging her leg so she could straddle Lexa and get lost in each other. They felt that despite everything, this fight and misunderstanding only served to bring them closer together. The amount of confidence they now had in their relationship was so much bigger than three days ago, not to mention how great the make-up sex has been. This shows that their love really is stronger than anything that may be thrown their way and that no matter what, they will always find each other again, and again, and again, and how many times they have to.


	47. Morning talks

The sun was well up in the sky when Bellamy started to open his eyes, seeing the sunrays lighting up the tent. He tried to move but found it to be difficult to move his left arm so as he fully opened his eyes, he was met with the view of Echo using his arm as her pillow and he couldn’t help the small smile that formed on his face as he watched the fierce warrior/spy as she slept peacefully and thoughts of everything that had happened, that they had done and said to each other the night before dawned on him and he realized that he really, really liked her. He probably shouldn’t because of her job as a spy but he couldn’t help it.

He had felt something different for her since their first interaction inside the Mountain. Surely, she had spit on his face, and it hadn’t been the best of first meetings, but even that was enough to drawn him in. He had found her interesting since that moment and something spoke to him when he looked her in the eyes. She didn’t seem to like him, but that didn’t stop his heart from beating faster and not simply because of the danger of his mission inside that place. He had to admit that he liked her since then.

Their interaction had been cut short after that and he was back in his previous mindset, especially since nothing should take him away from his mission to get out of that cage and infiltrate inside the Mountain away so he could spy in their defense system, take out the acid fog and he almost couldn’t have made it. Being drained of his blood had made him a little bit more light-headed than he would have liked and he had to admit that the guard Lovejoy had really gotten the upper hand on him and would have killed him if not for Echo.

Thanks to her holding the guy’s arm back against her cage, preventing him from cutting Bellamy’s throat, she gave him another chance to get the upper hand and win the fight which he did, when he choked the guy to death. If it hadn’t been for her, he would have died right there and all of his friends would still be in that place or worst, they would all be dead already and the Mountain Men would have started a war path to kill everyone that crossed their path while also taking their lands so whether she wanted to or not, Echo was one of the many heroes in this battle. Without her contribution, they couldn’t have won.

Back to the present moment, Bellamy raised his other hand and pulled the hair from her face, giving him a full-view of the unarmed and slightly relaxed look she had on her face. He couldn’t help himself to bring her in just a little bit closer and he also couldn’t help himself in caressing her arm draped over his waist or even stop himself from kissing her on her forehead. It all felt extremely domestic and romantic but what could he do when those things were what he wanted to do. Slowly, he felt the change in her breathing and soon enough, she opened her eyes and looked up to him and gave him a small smile.

“Good morning,” She said to him as he returned her smile back at her and nodded.

“Good morning. I didn’t think I would wake up before you. Aren’t you grounders supposed to be early risers?” He asked her with a smirk on his face so she knew he was kidding.

“Maybe for the other clans, they can all get up as soon as the sun is up in the sky but it is a little hard to rise with the sun when sometimes you can barely see it in the first place because of the fog,” She replied to him while he smiled at her before leaning down and connecting their lips in a slow and chaste kiss.

“Is it that bad in the Ice Nation?” He asked her and she sighed as she adjusted her head to lay down on his chest and he tightened his hold on her.

“It is certainly different than it is here, I guarantee you that. Although all clans are different, the one down south are more of the same. The North is completely different. Especially in winter, snow gets pretty heavy and of course, we have learned how to work around it but for everyone else is hard to move around,” Echo explained as he hummed before she continued, “It is one of the reasons why we are rarely attacked in our own territory because the rest of the clans can’t deal with the weather and the cold nature of our lands so even that has its perks, I suppose.”

“But now that you’re the Ice Nation General you won’t get to be in your clan very much will you? I mean, where are you going to be most of the time?” He asked her and she sighed before planting a kiss on his chest.

“As General, I will have to visit my clan every once in a while to make sure that I am doing my job but most of the time will be spent in Polis. My position now requires that I also make the security of my delegation in Polis as well as our Ambassador,” She explained to him.

“Well, I am glad. That means it won1t be so hard for me if I want to see you again, which for the record, I do very much so.”

Echo smirked at his words but there was a hint of uncertainty on her eyes, at least that was what Bellamy noted before she spoke, “I didn’t know I was that good but if you do come to visit me, I promise to show you around and we can spend some time together after that.”

“You were that good but it is more than that. I don’t just want to have sex with you again. I want to really get to know you. Hear about your embarrassing childhood stories, what you like to do, what you don’t like to eat, everything. I want to get to know you Echo. All of you,” he said sincerely, hoping that she would be there with him.

Echo lifted herself up on her elbow to really look at him in the eyes and she could see how sincere he was being when he said those words to her. He really wanted to know all those things and not to use them against her, but to get to know her better, because he was curious about her, no second intentions behind it. He was genuinely interested in her as a person and it kind of shocked her since no one had ever wanted to do that before but she quickly shook herself back to reality and promptly replied to him.

“As long as I get to hear about the same things from you, I think we can do that. But right now, why don’t we make the most of the time we do have?” Echo suggested and by the glint of lust and desire and something else neither of them was ready to delve into shone through in his eyes, she knew they were thinking along the same lines and neither of them wasted any time before they feel onto each other bringing the other to their climax more than once. It was definitely a well spent morning if you asked them.

As soon as the sun had begun to rise in the sky, Anya had woken up. Unlike many others, ale never managed to get to her no matter how much she would drink it so the day after she was never one to be much affected by it, be it by a hangover or anything else so in return she was always able to wake up early despite partying all night long both inside and outside of her house, after all the party didn’t stop simply because the two women went home. They made another party for themselves within the four walls of their bedroom and Anya had to say it, it was quite a pleasurable one at that.

Anya detangled herself from the sheets wrapped around her body and turned to see that her wife was still fast asleep so she did the only thing she thought she could do it which was to put on some clothes and start preparing them breakfast. It was something not many people knew but when she was home, Anya enjoyed cooking for Tori so much that all of the meals when home were prepared by her. That was because when she was in a mission or somewhere else she couldn’t do it so she enjoyed the moments in which she could do it, much like now.

She went straight to the kitchen and started making her wife’s favorite breakfast. Eggs, with toast and milk. The ingredients had once not been so easy to find or to have but once the Coalition was set in motion, things like bread and cows were able to be traded from a clan to another and now, anyone could have access to these things even if they didn’t grown or owned themselves. Lexa had thought of it all when she created the system, she was very smart and Anya was very proud of her even if she wouldn’t say it directly to the younger girl’s face.

Anya finished preparing the meal, then put it all in a tray and grabbed at the handles before she started making her way to their room. Once she opened the door, she called out for her wife and was able to wake her up as the younger woman settled against the headboard of their bed and Anya gently put the tray on her legs after giving her a morning kiss. Tori looked at the breakfast in her lap and then smiled at her wife.

“ **To what do I woe the pleasure of such breakfast in bed? Was I that good last night you thought I deserved a reward?** ” Tori said as she started eating her breakfast while Anya chuckled at what she had said.

“ **You are always that good when it comes to sex and you always deserve a reward, however this is a simple thank you gift** ,” Anya said sincerely and Tori looked at her in confusion.

“ **Thank you for what, exactly?** ” She asked, really not knowing what her wife was thanking her for. She couldn’t remember anything she had done which would warrant the gratitude.

“ **Thank you for being in my life** ,” Anya said as Tori smiled before she continued, “ **I know I am not as open about my feelings as you are or as you wished for me to be. You know how I grew up so I don’t need to go into that but I am really grateful that you came into my life Tori. I had no idea that I could come to love someone as much as I love you, I don’t even think I knew I could love someone at all before you came along but you always knew me better than I knew myself and you showed me that I can love.**

 **I know I didn’t make it easy for you in the beginning being as stubborn and closed off as I was but you never gave up on me even when I gave you all the reasons to and tried to push you away and now, I know I can’t imagine my life without you so thank you for coming into my life, thank you for fighting for me, thank you for being my wife and thank you for making me so happy. I love you more than anything** ,” Anya finished her speech.

Tori couldn’t help the tears in her eyes and the swell on her heart after hearing those words coming from her wife. They meant the world to her because yes, their start wasn’t the best one and Anya did make life hard for her when she was still trying to win the stoic general’s heart but she sure made it worth it and Tori couldn’t have asked for a better partner to share her life with and with that in mind she grabbed the tray and put it on the floor before she cupped her wife’s face on her hands and pulled her until they both fell on the bed and changing personalities, Tori decided to say what she wanted in actions and needless to say, they didn’t leave their bedroom until much later on the day.

As for the other couples, they all had a lazy morning. Kane and Callie woke up and spend some time together in bed with them thinking about names for their baby and wondering how they would be like, who they would take after and lots of laughter come from those thoughts. Kane couldn’t hold it in the happiness he felt at the thought of being a father. He never knew how much he wanted to be one until it became a reality for him. Now he couldn’t wait until he could hold his son or his daughter in his arms and the thought that his wife was giving the greatest gift he could ever receive only made him love her more.

“What are you thinking about?” Callie asked him. She was on her back while he was up supported by his elbow with his other hand on her belly, caressing it as gently as he could.

“How much I love you. How much I look forward to have a family with you,” He answered honestly as he looked up at her as she smiled at him.

“Why did you not want kids before? We were married for 10 years and just last year did you became open to the idea of having kids. What changed Marcus?” Callie asked him.

He took a deep breath. He couldn’t exactly tell her the whole truth about other timeline and time travel but he could speak about his truths, that he could do. “I changed, honey. I was such a jerk, such a self-centered bastard I hardly know what you saw in me and how you put up with me for so long when you had every right to not bother with how I was.”

“The man you are now is the man I always saw in you so how could I not fall in love with him?” She said as she ran her hand through his hair while smiling lovingly at him.

“Well, to shorten the story, I realized how I was and I knew I had to change and I am glad I did. I was missing on so much with you and everyone else. Now I can say I have true friends, a group of foster kids to look after, a baby on the way and the knowledge that I have the most wonderful wife I could have asked for whom I love very much. I am truly happy Callie,” He said and she smiled at him.

“You have no idea how happy hearing that makes me. I always wanted to make you happy and I am glad you finally gave me a real chance to do that,” She said and he gave her a short nod before he moved forward and laid his head on her belly.

“Mom and Dad are very happy and when you are ready to come out, we will be even happier. We promise to love and care for you always. Your mother will be your favorite, of course. She is mine too so don’t worry I won’t be too jealous about it,” Kane started saying as Callie chuckled and they spent the morning talking to their baby.


	48. Leaving is hard

Once they had finished taking a bath together, which ended up taking quite long given the many extra round of love making they did, and finally got dressed for the day, Clarke and Lexa went to the kitchen of the house they were staying in and together, they started preparing a breakfast for themselves, all very domestic. Except for the fact that Clarke, of course, had no idea how to properly cook since she had never done anything like it before. During her exile, she had simply cooked the meat from the animals she had killed and nothing else so she was watching and learning as Lexa taught her how to make a few simple dishes.

“Since you’re the Commander, I thought that food was always served to you. That there was no reason for you to learn how to cook, especially not like this,” Clarke said as she did what Lexa instructed her to do.

“And you would be right to think that. Even as nightbloods, we are treated differently than other people, with more care, with our needs taken care of and everything,” Lexa answered her girlfriend as she maneuvered around the kitchen grabbing what she needed.

“Then, if your every whim was met by the servants like royalty, how come you are so good at this?” Clarke asked her as she looked and smiled at the brunette who smiled back at her.

“You won’t believe me, but Anya was the one who taught me how to cook like this and not just for survival. For pleasure as well,” Lexa told the blonde with a smile on her face.

Clarke stopped what she was doing and turned her head to look at her girlfriend with a shocked look on her face. “You’re telling me Anya, Anya taught you how to cook like this? That is insane. I can’t even imagine her teaching you how to cook. I guess I don’t associate Anya with anything that isn’t fight related. I mean, she looks quite scary in the battlefield and I do say so from being on the other side,” She said shaking her head.

“Yeah, I know it sounds insane given how she presents herself to everyone, but she is an amazingly good cook and she would always say that it is important to know how to make our own food so she would teach me. Tori would teach me the more complicated stuff, like some dishes from the old world and such while Anya taught some basic things she had learned herself while tinkering with the recipes and all,” Lexa explained as she checked on the food.

“Why did you never mention that Anya had a wife or that Indra had a husband and another son in the other timeline? I just always assumed they had no one. No family at all, which is why Gaia was such a surprise,” Clarke asked her. Lexa sighed as she thought of the answer.

“I didn’t tell because there was no point in doing so. Indra’s husband and son were both victims of Finn’s massacre,” Lexa said sadly and Clarke stopped what she was doing and looked at the girl with surprise and horror in her face.

“Finn killed Amir and Levi? They were amongst the bodies?” She asked her girlfriend with a lump forming on her throat and Lexa could only nod her head as an answer. “That was why Indra wanted justice so badly against him and us, wasn’t it?” Clarke asked her again.

Lexa nodded one more time. “Yes. Her pain over the massacre was more personal than she led you to believe and after they died, she never mentioned them again so there was no way you could have known. I don’t think she ever even told Octavia about them and I wasn’t about to reveal something that was her business to do so if she wanted,” She said as she finished making her food.

“And Tori? Why did you never mention her?” Clarke asked after she finished hers and as she helped Lexa put the plates in the table, the brunette gave her an answer.

“Tori was one of the many victims of the missile that hit TonDC and the guilt I felt over her death never let me speak of her, at least not until the point we had lived to anyway,” Lexa said and Clarke nodded her head as she continued to think about what she just heard.

“We destroyed more of your people’s lives than we believed it, didn’t we?” Clarke asked filled with guilty over deaths that were no longer a reality. Lexa looked at her and nodded.

“Yes, you did but some of you also saved many more of us. You specially, Clarke. Without you so many of us would have died,” Lexa said to her and Clarke shook her head in disagreement.

“I did nothing good for your people or you, not really. I got you killed Lexa, your people massacred more than once, asked you to spare the murderers and you know I am speaking the truth,” Clarke said to her and Lexa stopped what she was doing, dried her hands and then cupped Clarke’s face making the blonde look at her.

“You did not get me killed. It was not your fault what happened to me. It was Titus’ decision to try and make decisions for my life without my consent and even worst, for picking up a gun and trying to shoot it wildly hoping one bullet could reach you. He is the only one to blame for what happened that day. If he had chosen to trust me, just a little bit more, none of that would have happened with us,” Lexa said to her as Clarke let her hands reach Lexa’s waist, resting them there while Lexa cupped her face with her hands.

“Maybe. Maybe you’re right, but I can’t help but feel like there is nothing good I brought to your life. I just caused death and pain and hurt,” Clarke said as tears formed in her eyes and Lexa could help but kiss one and then the other before she pulled back and looked at Clarke.

“You don’t think I feel the same way? Don’t you think sometimes I don’t stay up at night watching you sleep because I am afraid that someone can come and take you away from me and the only thing I will receive is your head on a box? Don’t you think my biggest fear is that you will end up just like Costia? That being with me is the reason you will suffer? That my enemies will try to hurt you to hurt me? I am terrified of it. It is one of the reasons why I had tried to harden my heart,” Lexa said to her and Clarke just listened.

“But I know that I will face those fears every day to be with you because I can’t not be with you Clarke. I can’t. These past two days we have been fighting have just proven to me how much I need you in my life every single moment of it. I am afraid one day you will regret being with me. That you will look at me and think that I ruined your life, that you wish you had never met me,” Lexa said trailing off and Clarke was the one to pull her closer this time.

“That could never happen. You hear me? That will never, ever happen. No matter what will or will not happen, what can or cannot happen to me, I will never regret being with you. Not for a single second. I love you more than anything, more than anyone. You are the best thing that has ever happened to me, Lexa and hear me when I say that absolutely nothing, nothing will ever change that. I love you,” Clarke said and Lexa nodded.

“I love you too so much,” Lexa said and wasted no time in kissing Clarke and the blonde readily kissed her back, both of them pouring into the kiss the love they feel for each other or at least some part of it, enough to make the other feel it. The love they felt was all consuming and they had no fear of simply surrendering to it. It was perfection and they could feel it. Being together was what they were meant to do, each other was who they were meant to be with and nothing would tear them apart now. They would be together forever.

Lexa pulled back from the hug but no from the embrace they were in before she spoke, “I really don’t know how I will be able to handle being away from you.”

“Me too. Since we have met again, we have not been more than two days apart and I really don’t want you to go,” Clarke said pouting and Lexa only smiled.

“I don’t want to be away from you either but I need to go to Polis. I need to make your people a part of the Coalition or else we won’t be able to be together in peace and I need that. I really need to just be with you and not have to worry if I will have to betray you or your people in favor of mine again,” Lexa said to her sincerely and Clarke nodded understanding.

“My head and the rational part of me gets that but my heart doesn’t. It hurts to be away from you and after the last experience I had when you died and these last couple of days, I really hate just the thought of it. Especially seeing as you will be around the man who actually killed you,” Clarke said not being able to hide the anger and the fury when she talked about Titus’ presence near her girlfriend.

“You are adorable, you know that?” Lexa said smiling at her as Clarke smiled at her before Lexa pecked her lips, once, twice, three times before she pulled back to look at the beautiful blue eyes of her lover.

“I will try to do what needs to be done as fast as I can so that I can make it back to you within a week. Can you hold on until then for me, _meizen_?” Lexa said and Clarke smiled at the term the brunette used and nodded.

“Yes, it will be hard and I will probably call you every day but I will,” Clarke said and Lexa smiled at her. Spirit, how she loved Clarke.

“Okay, now, let’s eat before it gets cold,” Lexa said and they kissed one more time before they both sat down on the chairs and started eating the breakfast and as soon as Clarke tasted the food she couldn’t help but moan in appreciation of it.

“Oh my God. This is so good. You are definitely looking towards many, many years of cooking meals for me, you know that right?” Clarke said to the girl and Lexa just smiled and nodded.

“Yes, I figured. And I have no problems with it at all. I would love to cook for you if that’s the reaction I get,” Lexa said with a sly smile and Clarke answered with one of her own.

They continued eating the wonderful meal prepared by Lexa and also making small talks about some things that they saw in the party and who was hooking up with who, the recent news of Kane’s baby and even after they finished eating, they continued talking for about 20 minutes before Clarke thought about their impeding goodbye and felt her heart clench a lot at the thought of being apart from Lexa for a whole week. The blonde suddenly turned serious and looked at the brunette who noticed the changes in her demeanor.

“When do you leave?” Clarke asked Lexa words extremely familiar as they sobered up from the moment they were having and Lexa sighed, shrugging.

“We didn’t exactly establish a schedule to leave so I guess when I decided it is time for us to go. They should have everything prepared by now, just in case. Why?” Lexa asked the blonde.

Clarke didn’t answer right away, she simply stood up and held out her hand towards Lexa who took it immediately and felt the tug to get up so that was exactly what she did. Without speaking one word, Clarke turned and walked them back towards the bedroom and closed the door behind them before she started removing Lexa’s clothes. Her intents were now perfectly clear so Lexa could do only one thing. She responded in kind, removing the blonde’s clothes as they feel onto the bed in a mess of limbs, kisses, touches, moans, desire, longing, desperation, and most importantly, love.

They reached their climax three times and were spent before they both relaxed in each other’s arms for a few more minutes before Lexa had to unfortunately break the bubble they were in. “It’s time,” She said as Clarke who was lying with her head on the brunette’s chest, tightened her hold on her one more time as she felt light kisses on her head.

“I know,” Lexa replied and Clarke could only sigh before she sat up, clutching the sheets over her chest and Lexa sat up as well kissing her exposed shoulders before they both threw the covers off and silently got dressed.

Clarke finished early, since her clothing was less complicated than her girlfriend’s armor and left the bedroom to let Lexa finish getting ready as the blonde walked into the living room and paced around. She could feel her nerves flaring up with the upcoming goodbye but she tried her best to tone them down. Lexa needed to do this and she had to let her, it was for everyone’s sake that the brunette got turned into reality what she had planned for them more than anyone else, but knowing that didn’t make the departure any less difficult.

Clarke wondered if this is what Lexa felt when the blonde had to leave to go back to her people because if it was, she needed to apologize for it. While she thought of that, Lexa finally came out of the room completely dressed, head to toe, except she wasn’t wearing war paint. The brunette came to stop in front of her and they both sighed.

“Are you going to see me off?” Lexa asked her as she wrapped her arms around Clarke’s waist pulling the blonde closer to her, to which Clarke went more than willingly.

She, however, shook her head as she looked into her girlfriend’s eyes. “I want to but I probably shouldn’t. I doubt I could do it without letting everyone know how I feel for you and we don’t need that. Not yet, at least so I think it’s best if I don’t go.”

Lexa then nodded her head, “You’re probably right. I don’t think I could do it without revealing my feelings for you either.”

“It will be okay. We will be okay. You have the radio Raven made for us. We will talk to each other everyday and you will do whatever you need to and you will come back to me as fast as you can with your spirit right where it is, do you hear me Alexandria?” Clarke said in a threatening tone and Lexa couldn’t help but smile.

“Should I expect you to use my full name whenever I am in trouble?” She said trying to lighten up the situation and it worked as Clarke smiled at her.

“You bet,” She said before she cupped Lexa’s face in her hands and pulled her in for a kiss, pouring all her love into it and feeling Lexa do the same. With that kiss, they said everything they didn’t know how to put into words and understood what each other was actually saying, so deep were their connection. Lexa then pulled back from the kiss before leaning her forehead against Clarke’s.

“I can never promise you that I will not die but I can promise you that I will always come back to you even if I have to fight death for it. Nothing is going to keep us apart,” Lexa said firmly and sincerely and Clarke couldn’t help falling in love with her just a little more.

“I love you so much,” She said as if in awe of the woman in front of her.

“And I love you,” Lexa replied before they kissed one more time. Clarke then pulled Lexa in for a hug before she stepped back, putting some actual physical distance between them never taking her eyes off of the brunette. Lexa smiled at her before she turned around, grabbed her bag and walked out of the house as Clarke went back to sit down on the couch and clutched the necklace that represented her girlfriend and started the countdown of the minutes it would take before she could have her girlfriend’s arm around her again.


	49. Arrival in Polis

The trip to Polis was uneventful, at least for everyone else because Lexa did it with her heart shattering by every step she took away from the woman who meant everything to her. If leaving Clarke at the entrance of the Mountain was hard enough to do it, leaving her now, after everything they had shared, the moments they had shared, the domestic feeling created living together in the house, was downright horrible. She had barely left and she was already terribly missing the blonde girl beyond tempted to just turn her horse around and go all the way back until she had her arms wrapped around Clarke.

Of course that she didn’t let those feeling shine through so that her warriors would notice her conflicted heart, after all, she had spent years learning how to perfect the impassive mask she used when she had to deal with things as Commander so she knew there was no way someone who didn’t truly know her would notice anything different with her. However, those closest enough to her which would be Indra, Anya and Gustus, all of them could see that she was leaving with a heavy heart. They knew the reason why she was feeling that way and couldn’t help but feel bad for the two young girls in love.

They had all wanted for Lexa to move on from the pain of losing Costia, they had wanted for her to find love again, she deserves it more than anyone else they knew and for that reason they hoped that they could protect the relationship they had seen blooming between the two young leaders. They hoped that their Commander wouldn’t be face with a heartbreak like the previous one, they were all silently sacred she wouldn’t be able to take it this time and they shuddered just thinking about it.

They had made a few stops for the horses to take a break and to drink some water but Lexa didn’t exactly wanted to wait for longer than needed since the faster she got to Polis, the faster she would be able to deal with what she needs to deal with and the sooner she can get back to Clarke. And except from the storm going inside of her, everything else went relatively easy for them, there were no attacks, no ambush, no thieves, no one trying to kill her, nothing. Just a sunny day in the Sky and a nice breeze greeting them along the way.

Lexa kept thinking and replaying in her mind the memories she had made with Clarke, they both soothed and hurt her but she kept doing anyway. However, the closer they got to Polis, the more thoughts turned from Clarke and to business. Lexa started thinking of how hard it would be to convince her Ambassadors to let not only the Skaikru but the Maunon as well into the Coalition. Both were recent enemies turned allies, one of which terrorized them for generations, which didn’t exactly made the idea appealing but she had to trust she could do it.

If she couldn’t, it was safe to say that they wouldn’t have much of a choice. It was true that she could invite and uninvite whichever clan she wanted into or out of the Coalition. The final decision was hers and if she wanted them in, they would be in. However, the last time she did that, force the decision onto her Ambassadors, it didn’t turn out well for either party involved. Which is why she wanted to do that in a last case scenario. If nothing she says convinces them to give the two new people a chance, then she will use her authority to get it done.

Soon enough, by the latter half of the afternoon, Lexa came to the gates of the city and as it opened, she could see that her people were gathered in the streets and as her and her group started making their way through the city, their chants and praises were deafening. Word had spread of their victory so she was expecting this, she was just never one to bask in such a thing as glory. She did what she had to do for her people, it was her duty but past commanders had made her people forget that she didn’t do anything extraordinary however she knew better than to try and correct them. So now, she just let them be.

Given everything and all the people wanting to see her, touch her, speak to her, it took her quite a while to get to her tower as she made sure to speak with as many of her people as she could but once she did, she simply got down from her horse and made her way inside the place going straight to the elevator and pressing the number of the floor she wanted to go, not even waiting for anyone else to catch up. There was something she needed to do now that she regained her memories of the other live she had lived and it couldn’t wait, she couldn’t wait.

It took about 5 minutes however for her it seemed to be far longer and she guessed it would be if she was considering the time since the other timeline. But suddenly the doors opened and she was greeted by the guards standing outside of the room and she just smiled as she opened the door, walked inside the room and looked around. She could see 8 heads turn towards her and the only thing she could do was open her arms and it was the only thing needed before sound of running feet filled the air and she felt a small body collide with her.

“ **Heda, you are back** _.”_ Veda, the youngest nightblood at the age of only 6 years old said as they hugged and Lexa nodded at the little girl.

Soon the other joined in as well into a group hug. She had never got the chance to really talk to Clarke in the way that she had wanted to when they were in Polis, given the time the blonde spent angry with her and everything that happened after that between them and their people, but the nightbloods were like her children and their deaths in the other timeline really affected her even if she was not present to witness it but only watched it in the Valley of Time. As soon as she had seen the tower, she remembered it and felt the need to come and check on them, make sure that they were all alive and well. She needed to see it with her own eyes.

“ **We didn’t know you were coming** _.”_ Konnor, that is also 6, said to her as they all pulled back and Lexa made sure to hug each one starting from him. “ **I know. I wanted to be a surprise. Did you guys like it?”** She asked them as she moved to hug Faye then moving to Atlas, then Brody finally coming to the two nightblood she was closest too. Aden and Cora. Strangely enough, they were the closest ones among the group, truly treated each other like brother and sister and yet Aden was Trikru and Cora was Azgeda.

How did Cora end up in Polis and yet Ontari didn’t? It was quite easy to answer. A couple from Azgeda escaped their clan and came to Polis to live here and when they gave birth to the little girl, it was immediately tested and confirmed that she was a nightblood. The mother didn’t survive the birth and the father couldn’t handle his wife’s death and so he had given the child directly to Lexa for her to raise the girl before he left the city and went towards Luna’s clan where he has lived ever since, as far as she knew. Cora was able to escape Nia’s crutch.

As for why Lexa was closest to the two of them, it was because both Aden and Cora were orphans and they both came to her care while they were babies still. Of course, back then Lexa was too young to feel like their mother but she definitely considered them like her little siblings just like with Madi who is her own sister of flesh and blood. Luckily, none of the others really complain about that, all of them having understood the circumstance in which their brother and sister came to her care, which was undeniably good for everyone.

“ **Have you behaved while I was gone?** ” She asked them and they all smiled and nodded their heads at her with a small smirk in their faces and she returned it with one of her own.

“ **We were absolute angels** ,” Brody said being the most chipper and funny of them all and Lexa simply smiled at him narrowing her eyes.

“ **I can imagine that** ,” She said to them as she heard steps getting closer and she couldn’t help but tense up momentarily as she heard his voice as he spoke to the children.

“ **Nightbloods, the Commander must be tired from her trip. Let her rest and tomorrow she will see if she has time to speak with all of you** ,” Titus said to them. The kids all turned serious, retreating into their training stances and although before that had not bothered her so much, right now Lexa felt incredibly angry about it.

“ **No, there is no need for that. I am perfectly fine and as such, they will stay here with me for the rest of the day. Thank you for watching over them while I was away, Titus** ,” Lexa said to him in her Commander voice as he looked at her frowning.

“ **Commander, is something wrong? Something I need to know about your trip?** ” Titus asked her and she shook her head at him, trying to soften her stance a little so he wouldn’t become too suspicious of her attitude change towards him.

“ **No, I just would like to spend some more time with them** ,” Lexa said to him and he nodded at her, judging if that was all there was to it but she just looked back at the kids who were looking at her expectantly and she just smiled at them.

“ **Are you serious Commander?** **We get to spend the day with you, no training?** ” Konnor asked her and she smiled at him. He was the sweetest one of the bunch, so he was always the more interested in avoiding training with Titus which only made her smile even bigger.

“ **Yes, I am serious, Konnor. There will be no training for you today. We are just going to spend the day together. I will tell you about anything you want to know and you will tell me of everything I missed while I was away, including how many warriors you pranked** ,” She told them and they all laughed at that.

Whenever they had some free time which wasn’t often, the kids liked to play pranks on the people that worked on the tower. One of their favorite targets would be Titus of course. Everyone else had already gotten used to it, some of them even enjoyed it and it never was anything dangerous, so Lexa let them do it. Luna had been the one to start that tradition and Lexa decided to let it continue. They had so little chances to just be kids Lexa didn’t dare to take it away from them.

“ **Commander, may I speak with you for a moment? It’s important** ,” Titus said and only then did Lexa registered his presence. She had thought he had left already.

She really wasn’t in the mood to deal with him but decided to see what he wanted to talk to her about. “ **I will be right back**.” She said to the nightbloods before she followed Titus to a corner of the room where they could speak freely. “ **What is so important?** ”

“ **Lexa, we have too many things to talk about you for you to simply spend the day playing with the nightbloods. You have duties to attend now that you are back in Polis. You can’t just go play as if you don’t have more important matters to deal with** ,” Titus said reproachingly and Lexa just got angry because of it.

“ **I can do what I want and when I want it, Titus. I have not forgotten my duties nor will I ever so you don’t have to worry. Anything that needs my attention will be overlooked, tomorrow. Today I will spend with my nightbloods. Have I made myself clear?** ” Lexa said in her Commander voice and Titus knew better than to go against her when she used that voice.

“ **Of course, Commander. I am sorry if I overstepped** ,” He said as she nodded at him.

“ **Well, you are excused for the day, Titus. Try to relax a little. You are too tense** ,” She said to him before she walked away and went back to check on the kids, only watching with her peripheral vision when he walked away and out of the room and it was noticeable how all the kids visibly relaxed when he was no longer there and Lexa had to admit that she was no different, not because she was afraid of him like the kids were but because of everything that she now knew he was capable of doing, but right now, her treacherous flamekeeper was the last thing she wanted to think about. With that in mind she turned to her nightbloods who were all looking at her with big expecting eye causing her to chuckle.

“ **What do you guys want to do?** ”


	50. Night Check

Once Lexa had finally finished spending time with her nightbloods, going through the tower and pranking a few guards then going to the kitchen to eat, she took them to their rooms and put every single one of them to sleep. It was not an easy task since they were very excited about spending so much time with her, but she was able to work that into her advantage and tired them out as best as she could. When their heads hit their pillows, it didn’t take long for them to close their eyes and fall asleep listening to a story she was telling them. Once she was done, she kissed each one of their heads before leaving the room.

Much to her expected surprise, Titus was waiting for her outside of their room. She knew that he was feeling confused about her behavior since she arrived and that he had many questions for her, but she was hoping he would at least wait until tomorrow to start bombarding her with it. However, the part of her that really knows him, didn’t think that that was even a remote possibility and when she came out of the nightbloods’ quarters and he was there, it didn’t surprise her. So, she took a deep breath before she decided to speak up first.

“ **I thought I told you could, better yet should retire for the day Titus** ,” Lexa spoke to him as she closed the door of her nightbloods’ room and started walking away from it, in the direction of the lift as he followed her.

“ **I know what you told me earlier but I was hoping I could talk to you before that Commander. There really is much we need to discuss** ,” He pleaded with hers as both of them entered the lift and Lexa pressed the button of the floor she wanted and it started going up.

“ **And what could be so urgent that you wish to discuss it this late at night? Can’t it wait till tomorrow?** ” She asked him putting her hands behind her back as she looked at him.

“ **I’m afraid it cannot wait until tomorrow Commander** ,” He said to her and she nodded before she looked right ahead at the doors until they opened once they had reached the desired floor. She walked towards her quarter with him following right behind her as she expected.

“ **Mino. Tawen. It is good to see you both well** ,” She said greeting the two guards stationed in front of her room. She knew the name and the lives of every single one of her royal guards. It served many purposes. One was knowing who exactly had access to her and her nightbloods and two was because she simply enjoyed knowing her people. Something she was quite known for since never before had a Commander cared to speak with her subjects as she does with hers. Never had any of their previous Commanders been interested in their life but she was and they loved her all the more for it.

“ **We are very glad to see you return home well and safe Commander. Polis and its people have missed you very much** ,” Mino said bowing his head in respect as did Tawen and she gave them both a small smile in return.

“ **Well, I am glad to be back here as well and I have missed Polis and its people too. How are your families? Have your wife given birth yet Tawen?** ” She said to them and the man nodded proudly with a dopey smile on his face.

“ **Yes, she did Commander. We have a beautiful and strong daughter named Tina** ,” He told her and she smiled at him before clapping him in the shoulder.

“ **That is all he has been talking about lately Commander. I am pretty sure I know every single thing the little one has done since she has been born given how much he speaks about her** ,” Mino said teasing his friend and colleague.

“ **Of course, he will talk about her a lot Mino. Children are a blessing and I am very happy for you my friend. May your daughter grow up to be an amazing person like her father but as responsible as her mother, please** ,” She joked with them and all three of them chuckled.

“Commander, if I may interrupt, I really need to speak with you,” Titus called for her attention and Lexa finally paid him some as she turned to look at him.

“ **Of course, Titus** ,” She said to him before she turned to the guards with a sincere smile on her face, “ **I want to her more about Tina one of these days**.”

Tawen nodded his head at that. “ **Nadia and I would be incredibly pleased and honored if you would meet our daughter Commander**.”

“ **Bring her to me tomorrow and I will gladly see the little one who has you wrapped around her little finger and bring Nadia with you** ,” She said to him before she bid them goodnight and opened her door, letting Titus enter before shutting it behind him.

“ **Very well Titus. Now, that we are finally alone, tell me what has gotten you so worried that you couldn’t wait until tomorrow for us to talk about it** ,” Lexa said to him as she crossed her arms over her chest and waited.

“ **Well Commander, I assumed that tomorrow at the meeting with the Ambassador you will talk about the news of the defeat of the Mountain, very well done by the way** ,” He said to her and she nodded silently accepting the compliment and inviting him to continue, “ **And I was hoping we could talk about what your plans are for the future of our people before you spoke with them. It is important I know beforehand after all we have our agenda**.”

And with just this, Lexa finally noticed how controlling the man in front of her really is. The overwhelming need he seems to have to know her every move, all the time was kind of shocking and she had not realized it before but she sure as hell was now and she didn’t like it one bit, however she still needed him since he was still her flame keeper so she took a different approach to his questioning of her plans then perhaps the one she would have liked.

“ **I would be glad to fill you in on my plan if I had one worthy of telling you about, Titus. However, I find myself quite indecisive about what course of action to follow for the betterment of my people so I am afraid I have nothing to tell you right now. I have a few plans on my head but I would rather have a fully prepare done before I present it to you or the Ambassadors. Tomorrow, I will simply talk about what happened at the Mountain and what of the situation with them and with the Sky People is. Any plan is going to have to wait a little linger to be known so if that is all, you may leave** ,” She said as she moved past him.

“ **Is something wrong, Commander? Have I done something to offend you?** ” Titus asked her with a frown on his face. She promptly turned around to look at him.

“ **Of course not, Titus. I have simply been at a war for the past three weeks and had little sleep since and with the trip here to Polis and spending the day with the children, I got quite tired and really just want to fall on the bed and sleep until tomorrow’s duties calls for me again. That is all** ,” She said to him and was quite glad that he never knew when she was lying or not, a fact that right now is coming in handy.

“ **You’re right Commander, you really need to rest. Forgive me for keeping you up so long, I was being insensitive. We can surely talk about this some other day** ,” He said to her nodding his head in respect and she gave him a small smile.

“ **No needs for apologies, Titus. You were just doing your job as efficiently as ever, something that is appreciated by me and by our people but now I must really ask you to leave. I will just take a bath and go to sleep** ,” She said to him and he nodded his head at her in respect.

“ **Of course, Commander. Have a good night’s rest. I will see you in the morning for the briefing** ,” He said and she gave him a short nod before he turned around and left the room. Once the door finally closed behind him, she was finally able to sigh in relief and relax.

Never before being in his presence had been so constricting as it was today. Guess that remembering that he was the person that not only tried to kill the love of her life but also successfully managed to kill her would do that to their relationship. But Lexa only wanted to push thoughts about Titus and his future possible actions to the back of her mind because she had not been lying when she said she was tired because she was way beyond that.

Given that they were spending their last time together before Lexa had to leave for Polis, the two lovers didn’t exactly want to go to sleep and miss one second of being together, engaging in many rounds of love making, talking, joking, eating and just being with each other which left little time for actual rest. However, she wouldn’t change one bit of that time she spent with Clarke in that house. It would be one of the many moments she would have to recall to be able to handle the separation between the two of them.

So, Lexa took off her shoulder pad, her sword, her coat, her headpiece and her boots before she walked further inside her room and in the direction of her bathroom. Her room was quite big and had three more rooms besides the bathroom. One was her closet, where she kept all of her clothes, the other was a training room which she used every day and the third was one room very particular and private that very few people ever had access to, one room that was very close to her heart and one she couldn’t wait to show Clarke.

Once she was inside the bathroom, Lexa stopped in front of the big mirror she had on the wall above the sink and just stared at herself. The last time she had been there in her previous life was the afternoon where she died. When she came out of the bathroom, she had seen Clarke in her room and after that it was history. She was just glad that she could be there once again and this time with a good-looking future ahead of her, she couldn’t wait before she would be able to share all of this, all of her and her life with Clarke.

She smiled to herself thinking that before she started shedding her clothes. Knowing her habits, the maids had already prepared her a bath in the bathtub she had and when she got in, it was like heaven. The water was just the right temperature and she couldn’t be more relaxed than she was now. She took pride in her bathroom, in her room as a whole. It used to be a simple room but when she took charge, she had it changed and now it was one of the best rooms in the tower. She was glad she was able to come back here and enjoy it once again.

After about an hour inside the tub thinking about what she would have to do to accomplish everything she wanted in the next few days, Lexa finally finished her bath, scrubbing off all the dirt from those past few days before she came out of it, dried herself and wore that black dress with the long leg slit she had worn when she went to see Clarke after the fight with Roan and moved back inside her room, going straight to her bag and grabbing something before she turned to the door and called for Tawen to enter which he did promptly.

“ **Commander. Did you call for me**?” The guard asked her after bowing and she nodded at him.

“ **Yes, I did. Make sure I am not disturbed and do not let Titus come near my room again tonight, understood?** ” She said to him and he nodded his head.

“ **Perfectly so, Commander. Anything else I can help you with?** ” He asked her politely and she just shook her head at him.

“ **No, that is all. You may leave and god night,** ” She said to him and he nodded his head at her bidding her good night as well before walking out of the room and closing the door behind him. Once he was gone, she finally went over to the bed, got inside it and under the covers before she got the radio Clarke had given her and turned it on. She was feeling a little nervous, never once before having used one of these to talk with someone so far away but she really wanted to speak with Clarke so she pressed the button and spoke into it,

“Clarke, are you there? Do you copy? Over,” She said and let go of the button waiting for the response but it didn’t came so she tried a few more times but there was still nothing so she judged that Clarke was already asleep or wasn’t in her room yet so she sighed and put the thing back on her bedside table and turned around to go to sleep. She was in the process of   falling asleep when she finally heard her name being called and recognized the voice. Immediately, she reached for the thing and pressed the button.

“Clarke? Is it you?” She said and waited for the response and was incredibly glad when it came.

“Lexa. Yeah, it’s me baby. I’m sorry I didn’t pick up earlier. I was finished getting dressed and almost didn’t hear you calling,” The blonde girl said as she walked around her quarters in Arkadia before getting settled in her couch with the radio on her hand.

“It’s ok. I am just glad I could hear your voice. I miss you so much,” Lexa said as she sat up in bed, covers falling to her hips.

“I miss you too baby so much. I wish you were here with me or that I was there with you,” Clarke said as she closed her eyes, trying to contain her emotions.

“Me too but right now this is for the best. I have things to do here and you have things to do over there. Besides, it won’t be too long. At most, it will take me a week to get everything sorted out here so we will be together soon enough. I promise,” Lexa told her.

“I certainly hope so. Being without you is horrible, I keep remembering being like this alone and wishing you there in the OGTL and given the circumstances on how that came to be, it just makes it a lot harder to be without you,” Clarke said sighing.

Lexa nodded even though the girl couldn’t see her. “I know. I kept thinking the same thing but I am okay, you’re okay and we’re talking to each other. That is all that matters.”

Clarke sighed before nodding. “Yeah, you’re right. We’re okay and we’ll be together soon. So, tell me, how was the trip and being back there? How is Titus?” Clarke said not being able to hid the disgust in saying his name, something that didn’t go unnoticed by Lexa who smiled at it.

“The trip was uneventful except for some light teasing from Anya about being sad for being away from you. Being back here has been something else. I went to see the nightbloods and spent most of the time since I arrived with them, just making sure that they were all okay and Titus has been different or I am just seeing him differently, I guess,” Lexa explained to Clarke.

“What do you mean being different and seeing him different? Has he done something to you or said something?” Clarke asked and couldn’t help the worry from seeping into her voice. Knowing that Lexa was so close to the man who positively killed her did nothing for her nerves and her worries about Lexa’s safety.

“I guess that knowing what I know now, I have been seeing his actions through a new perspective. One in which I had not seen before and I’m not liking the man I am seeing in him. I guess I was blind by the man who raised me and didn’t see that he could ever be a threat to me,” Lexa explained to her and Clarke nodded.

“Yeah, I guess I can understand that. Before the oxygen failure, I never thought Jaha would be capable of the things he did but he did, as did Titus. Baby, please promise me that you will be extra careful when it comes to him. I hate the thought that he is always so close to you and that I am not. Promise me you won’t let him hurt you. If he so even thinks about it, you make him pay, okay? Don’t let him take you away from me again,” Clarke said seriously.

Lexa couldn’t help the smile that came on her face at what she heard despite the seriousness of the matter. “I promise, _niron_. I won’t let him hurt me or take me from you again.”

“Thank you. You should go to sleep. I can imagine how tired you are. We will talk again tomorrow. I love you. Good night,” Clarke said to her girlfriend and Lexa could only smile.

“I really am. I look forward to talking to you again. I love you too. Good night.” Lexa said before she put the radio away and went back to bed and fell asleep in no time at all.


	51. Making Headway

Staying in the house to avoid seeing Lexa leave was hard for Clarke because she wanted to be there for her girlfriend, even if to see her for one last time before they would have to spend days apart, but she knew that if she had to watch the woman she desperately loved leave to go to a capitol where her once murderer was living in and to know that she wouldn’t be able to make sure that Lexa was okay for herself for at least one week would have been even harder so in the long run, she knew she made the right decision not only for her but for both of them as well and she was really glad that Lexa could see it like that as well and wasn’t angry at her.

Once Lexa had left, she took a few minutes to make sure that the girl would have been gone already before she gathered her things and went out of the house and went in search of her people. She found them gathering their things and preparing for their departure back to their camp. Clarke had managed to pass her parents unnoticed so once she had joined Raven and the other, they had no idea that she hadn’t been with them the night before, therefore they had no clue about her relationship with Lexa or the thought of her with anyone else.

Raven also covered for her as did Charlotte, who seemed to have already made the connection of her relationship with the Commander. Clarke observed Bellamy as he said goodbye to Echo and she could see that he was falling in love with the Azgeda spy and what made her the happiest was to see the same look reflected in the woman’s eyes when she looked at him before he moved to say goodbye to his sister and Lincoln. And once everyone was ready, they gathered their things and started on their walk back to their camp.

Arriving back at Arkadia was bitter sweet for Clarke because on one hand she was happy to be reunited with her people with the knowledge that things were looking pretty good for the, but she was also missing one very important person which was her girlfriend. They had only been apart for a day now and the blonde could already feel how much she was missing Lexa already. The Sky people had welcomed them with open arms, congratulatory speeches and thank yous and although Clarke was happy about all of that, it was not as much as everyone else so after greeting the people she excused herself and went to her room.

That had been yesterday, today she was just lying down on her bed looking at the ceiling wondering what her girlfriend was doing now. She hoped that Lexa got enough rest before she was swept right into her duties as Commander again. Lexa always gave so much of herself for her people and for everyone who needed, so much more than Clarke ever did and she never asked for anything in return, she never complained, she just kept giving and Clarke worried that she would work herself to exhaustion trying to fix everything for them and their people.

To talk through the radio was good so that Clarke could at least hear her voice and know that she is okay, hear about her day but it was still difficult to not be able to fall asleep in Lexa’s arms. Clarke has realized that she had grown used to it, she couldn’t sleep as well if Lexa’s wasn’t beside her and waking up was definitely different with or without her and she couldn’t help but wish that the times she would have to be without the brunette would be less and less than it is now. That soon enough she will be able to sleep and wake up with her girlfriend every night and every day.

“You’re thinking about her, aren’t you? The Commander?” Clarke heard and smiled a little as she turned to her side and saw Charlotte there looking back at her with a teasing smirk.

The younger girl had come to stay with her last night after Clarke was finished talking with Lexa and they stayed up until late at night talking about the many things that had happened in such a small amount of time which would be roughly getting close to two months since they had officially been sent to Earth, the first 100. And they have fought two battles and most of them survived and now they were looking forward to finally make a home for them in this place and for Clarke, at least in Charlotte’s eyes, much more had happened when it came about her love life. Finn and Lexa being the two people who had shown interest in her.

“Well, first of all, good morning, little sis. How did you sleep?” Clarke replied to her smiling and Charlotte just chuckled as did Clarke for a while before they settled back in bed.

“I slept okay but I know you didn’t. You were thinking about her, weren’t you?” Charlotte asked and Clarke sighed and just laid back in her bed looking at the ceiling.

“I can’t stop. I just want her to come back to me as fast as possible but that is still a week away from now,” Clarke said to the little girl.

“You really love each other, don’t you? Like, there is no one else for either one of you?” Charlotte asked herand Clarke nodded her head at her.

“The love I have for Lexa is so big that there are not enough words in our language I could use to describe it to you. She is just a part of me, my other half and I love her so much,” Clarke said with a silly smile on her face and Charlotte noticed it and couldn’t help but smile at it as well.

“I wish one day I can find a love like the one you two have,” The younger girl said wistfully and Clarke looked at her, smiling before grabbing her hand and intertwining their fingers.

“I know you will and it will be just as epic, though I wish it to be a lot less complicated for you than it is for me. But I believe that you will find it, you deserve it more than anything but only when you’re older. Right now, you need to stay a kid and enjoy it while you can,” Clarke said to her and Charlotte nodded.

“Of course Clarke. You think I’m stupid? I am in no hurry to be a grown up. It is a hard work to be an adult, everyone is counting on you, you have to do all these crazy stuff for your people. It is so demanding that when I watch you sometimes, I wonder how you don’t suffocate under all the pressure,” Charlotte spoke to ther and although Clarke was surprised by the girl’s intelligence, she couldn’t help but chuckle at what she said.

“Sometimes I wonder that myself and I guess the reason I don’t drown is because I have surrounded myself with people who share my burdens with me and those burdens I can’t share with them, I can share with Lexa so that helps,” Clarke explained to the younger girl who nodded her head.

“But still, you are amazing Clarke. Our people don’t praise you enough for everything that you have done, is doing and will continue to do it for them and I guess I just wanted to take this moment that it’s just you and me and that we are just two normal girls to say that meeting you changed my life for the better and I couldn’t have asked for a better sister than you. I love you,” Charlotte said sincerely and Clarke couldn’t help but be touched by it.

“Thank you, that means a lot to me and I am grateful for meeting you too Charlie. And you are one of the smartest, sweetest, strongest 13 years old I have ever met and I am also very proud to be your sister. I love you too,” Clarke replied and put her arm around the other girl shoulder drawing her closer to her as they stayed hugging each other like that for a few more minutes before they heard the knocks on the door and a booming voice entering the quarters.

“Blonde bitch, it’s time to wake your sorry white ass up,” Raven’s voice yelled out and the sisters just chuckled at their friend’s antics. The two of them got out of bed, got dressed and went to open the door. Raven, who was sitting down on the small couch Clarke has looked at the two of them standing side by side with their arms crossed.

“Who are you calling a blonde bitch with a white ass?” Charlotte said and frowned and Clarke mirrored her expression and Raven just stared at them before all three of them just broke in laughter as the blondes hugged the mechanic.

“Obviously, I mean this blonde bitch with a white ass,” Raven said as she hugged Clarke and slapped her butt on the last part and it made the blonde in question laugh even more.

“Shut up you bitch. My little sister is here, watch your mouth,” Clarke said to her friend and pulled back from the hug with a grin on her face. Raven just smirked at her.

“Anyways, I came to get the Sleeping Beauties because we have a breakfast to go eat. You, young lady has work at MedBay and you BB has a meeting with yours truly, Kane and Murphy to go to so we should get going,” Raven told them and Clarke and Charlotte nodded at her.

“What does BB mean?” Charlotte asked Raven who chuckled loudly while Clarke just shook her head with a half grin on her face. Only Raven, only Raven.

“It means Blonde Bitch for shorts. Seems very fitting considering everything I know about your dear big sister, you know. Lots and lots of it,” Raven joked. Clarke just opened the door and pushed the laughing mechanic out of her quarters before Charlotte walked out as well and she followed the two girls and closed the door behind her.

All three of them went to the Dining Hall, got their food and joined what has come to be their table and all of their friends were already there. Murphy, Wells, Jessica, Finn, Bellamy, Monty, Harper, Monroe, Miller and the three girls joined in. The conversation was around the instability of the Council and Jaha with Wells being the first to agree with Finn about the fact that his father was lost and was probably not the best choice to be their leader anymore and that sooner or later he would need to step down and let someone else do it.

The three friends who knew more than the rest of them shared a look with each other which meant that they were all aware of what the next step in their plan needs to be and once she received a nod from Murphy and another from Raven and after finishing her food, Clarke stood up and looked toward the table where Kane was eating his breakfast with his wife Callie and Clarke’s parents and when he looked at her, she subtlety gave him a sing to follow them out of the hall and somewhere where they could talk and he nodded, understanding it.

The friends bid good bye to the others, Clarke gave Charlotte a kiss and a hug before they left the place and walked out all the way towards the quarters, Raven and Murphy were sharing. It was big enough to comport all of them and seclude enough where they could talk. Once they got inside and before they started speaking, Raven activate a device that would beep if there was any bug in the place and after doing a sweep on all the rooms, it was clear and so all three of them relaxed before they heard a knock and opened the door for Kane to get inside. When they were all sitting down, Clarke was the first one to speak up.

“I think that all of us have realized that it has come the time for us to take down Jaha from the position of Chancellor,” She said as she looked at Raven who was sitting beside her to the guys who were sitting in front of her.

“Yeah, the more we talk to people, the more it seems that they have started to realize that he is not actually doing anything with the people’s best interest at heart which to me he never did in the first place but you know,” Murphy said shrugging his shoulders.

“What do you think about this Kane? I know he is your friend and that you wish you didn’t have to do this and all but you know we have to, don’t you?” Raven asked the guy who looking at the other three, sighed.

“Yes, I know that Thelonious’ time as Chancellor has passed and that for our people, the best thing is for a new Chancellor to arise to lead us to a better future, one along with the grounders but,” He said but Clarke interrupted him before he could continue with his speech.

“We don’t just need a new Chancellor, Kane. Look at Pike as Chancellor, he was a disaster to put it lightly. What we need, who we need occupying that place is you,” She said to him and he seemed shocked by what she was saying and she continued,

“You are the perfect man for the place. Our people need you to lead them,” She said to him and he was still completely surprised but he seemed to recover from it.

“But what about you? When your relationship with Lexa becomes known, her people won’t like the idea of you being an Ambassador thinking that that way you can sway her decisions. Won’t you need me when that happens?” Kane said to her.

“Yeah, Clarke. He makes a pretty good point about it. He has already done it once, he could do it again,” Murphy said to her and Clarke nodded at them.

“You both are right. When people find out Lexa and I are together, they will demand I step down from the position of Ambassador and I will. Someone will have to take my place and is someone that I can trust and work with as well as someone who can work and trust the Chancellor to make sure that we don’t create problems for the Coalition as we did before,” She said to them and they nodded.

“Which is why I would like to formally ask you Raven to be the new Ambassador of the Sky People once I resign,” Clarke said and turned towards the mechanic who was beyond shocked more than anyone else and the blonde just smiled at her.

“Are you seriously asking me to be our Ambassador? Like, me? Crazy me?” Raven asked pointing at herself and Clarke smiled and nodded at her.

“Yes, I am serious asking crazy you to be the next Ambassador. I trust you Ray and Kane trusts you. With the three of us in positions of power, we can guarantee that the problems we had before never become problems in the first place. We trust each other, we know each other and we can work together pretty well. It’s a win-win-win situation. And don’t think I forgot you John. I have some plans for you as well but we can discuss those later, alright?” She said to him and he simply saluted her and they all chuckled.

“Look, this doesn’t have to be a permanent solution either. I am 99,9% sure that sooner than later Wells will want to become Chancellor, he was born for it. He is a good guy and he will be a good leader, so much better than his Dad. When that happens, if you all want and agree, Kane can come to Polis and become the Ambassador and you can be whatever the hell you want to be even leave to go to Floukru to be with Luna if you want.”

“But right now, I need these positions to be filled with the two of you. You are the only ones who knows the past and who truly knows what it is going to take to change it into a better future. That is why I was given the chance to bring more people with me. Because I can’t do this all on my own, I need help. I need you. Lexa and I will do our part to the best we can and we need you to do the same so I need to know, can I count with all three of you in this?” Clarke explained and asked them as they looked at each other.

“Well, I don’t know about these two but I’m in, all the way to the end whatever that may be. We didn’t come here to stop now. We can and should do this. You can count with me,” Murphy told her and Clarke smiled at him reaching out her hand as he grasped it.

“Thank you, John. That means a lot to me,” She said and he shook his head before she turned her head to look at the other two, “What about you two? What do you say?”

Raven and Kane looked at each other and agreed on their answer so with that in mind, the mechanic turned towards her and with a smirk on her face said, “When do we start?”


	52. First Meeting

Back in Polis, it was very, very early in the morning, the sun was barely rising in the horizon but the first few sunrays could be seen and felt inside the bedroom and that was all that was needed for Lexa’s biological alarm clock to go off warning her that it is time to wake up. Being the early riser, Lexa had no problem waking up. She rolled around in her bed as she stretched her body, yawning off the last remains of sleep before she stopped moving and simply looked up at the ceiling of her room, remembering the night before.

She and Clarke had stayed talking for a large while into the night until neither one of them could hold off their tiredness any longer and with many I love you’s, the brunette finally ended the radio call and succumbed to her body’s desire of rest. Luckily, her usual nightmares gave her a break last night and didn’t appear even once, which was not a usual occurrence. She would dare say she was even having a good dream but all in all, it was a very good night. However, it was day already and a new day ahead means lots of work.

Lexa threw the covers off of her before she sat up on the bed and got up from it walking inside her room before she went to her closet and changed from her night wear, to her work out clothes and walked out of that room and into her training one. She walked to the wall where she kept many weapons in display and grabbed a bo before going to the middle of the room. She put the bo staff on the floor and started stretching her body, reading it for the work out she was about to do, which was something she did very often.

Once she was done stretching her muscles, she finally got the bo and started twirling around and doing moves of attack and defense. Safe to say, Lexa went off on it. When she worked out, she liked to harness her skills to the max and once she was satisfied with her work with the bo, she tossed it aside and started her body routine, using her fist, her legs, mortal flips, all of it and once she was done with it and quite sweaty, she moved to training with the swords, then the knives, passing by the bows and arrows and ending up with a good moment of meditation and relaxing, needed after such a work out.

Once she was finished with that, Lexa went to her bathroom and went to shower, getting clean of the sweaty. Then once she was done, she dried herself and proceeded to wash her teeth with a mixture of peppermint and a made toothbrush, then she dried her hair as best as she could. Once she was finished with her morning routine, she went to her closet and got dressed with black pants, a black long sleeved shirt and he knee-high brown boots before she walked out of her closet and into her room, she grabbed her coat and her other Heda adornments and put them on as they was a knock on the door.

“ **Who is it?** ” Lexa asked and the answer promptly came in, “ **It’s Amina, Heda** ,” The maid said and Lexa sighed in relief before ordering the woman to come inside.

Once she did, Lexa sat down on her chair and waiting for the girl to start braiding her head. She was capable of doing by herself but it took too much of her time and while the woman worked on it, Lexa took the time to think about the best way to approach the subject of the Skaikru and the Maunkru to join the Coalition. She knew it would be difficult but there was no other or better choice and she would make her Ambassadors see that however that would not be happening today. Today was simply a briefing meeting but in the next ones she will start broaching the subject without Titus’ knowledge obviously.

Once Amina was done, she quietly left the room and Lexa finished her preparations before she went out of the room as well and Gustus was already outside of her room awaiting to accompany her as he usually did, to make sure she arrived safely, both of them getting inside the lift and going down one floor to the throne room. And as usual and respectful, all Ambassadors were already there as well as Titus, Anya and Indra and all standing in their feet as she made her way through the room and up towards her throne, turning around to look at them as all of them took to their knees as a show of respect to her and her position.

“ **Rise** ,” She said once the time was up and they all got up and as she proceeded to sit down so did they, always waiting for her to do it first.

“ **Today, we are gathered here to talk about what has happened in these past few weeks that I have been gone from Polis and fighting in the war against the Mountain Men as well as to talk about their defeat in the face of our people** ,” Lexa started her speech as the Ambassadors paid attention to her as she looked at all of them.

“ **After our defeat against the Sky people, I took it upon myself to go and deal with the situation as I saw fit. At first, I must say I had the idea of simply wiping them out but their leader, Clarke of the Sky People came to me through a deal she made with Anya when they escaped the Mountain together, a feat never once done before, that it would be much more interesting for all of us if instead of fighting each other, we fought with each other against a common enemy which was the Mountain Men and with their knowledge of the technology which the Mountain Men used against us, I decided to ally with them to defeat their leaders.”** She continued,

 **“And this alliance proved itself to be successful. Together with the effort of the Sky People, we were able to infiltrate the walls of the Mountain and disable the acid fog which gave us chance to get close to their doors and one of the Sky People’s mechanics were able to open their doors and we were able to storm the Mountain and defeat them in their own home** _,”_ Lexa said to them and there were cheers from all of the Ambassadors, including Brody, the Azgeda representative.

She raised her hand and they went silent once more, “ **Indeed, it is a moment of celebration. For generations our people were left in fear of losing loved ones or being captured by the Mountain Men but let it be known that such a fear is no longer needed. With the help of the Sky People and a group of rebels who lived inside the Mountain and disagreed with their leaders, we were able to once and for all extinguish the threat of the Mountain. All of their weapons, the missiles, and half of the guns have been permanently destroyed. The other half was offered to the Sky People as a token of gratitude for their contribution** ,” She said and noticed some of the Ambassadors looking among themselves before one spoke up.

“ **What do you mean by receiving help from the Mountain Men, Commander**?” Libby, the Shallow Valley Ambassador asked her and Lexa internally sighed but chose to answer anyway.

“ **Some people of the Mountain were firmly against what their leaders chose to do to our people. As I was made aware, their people ahd not evolved like us and therefore were not able to breathe our air. We were captured to have our blood used as medicine in case they came in contact with it but some of them refused to received one drop of our blood since they believed that what their leaders were doing to our people was wrong cruel and inhuman. Even at the prospect of dying if they did not take, they stayed true to their beliefs despite the risk. They were the group that helped our inside man disable the acid fog and also helped free our people who were kept in cages** ,” Lexa explained to them and the murmuring started.

She let it happen for a while, giving them time to process everything that they have heard so far but once she judged it to be time enough, she stopped them and Brody, the Ice Nation Ambassador stood up and spoke directly to her. “ **Are you trying to tell us that there are good people inside that place? People that wanted to help us instead of helping their own people survive?** ” He asked her and she looked at him.

“ **Yes, that is what exactly what I am saying because that is what happened Brody. I would not lie about it** ,” She said firmly to him as he scoffed and sat down shaking his head before she turned to speak to all of the Ambassadors, deciding to lay out the first seed of what she plans to accomplish by the end of this week.

“ **We could not have won this war without the support of the people who lived inside the Mountain who risked their lives not only by going against their own people and leaders but also by helping their supposed enemy, not even knowing if they would be spared or not. they didn’t choose to fight for their people or ours, they chose to fight fir what was right and without their help, we would still today be afraid of the Mountain and still be under their threat** ,” Lexa explained to them and some were incredulous.

“ **Commander, I beg that you understand that it is very difficult for us to imagine that there are good people inside that place. For generations, as you have said so yourself, they have tormented us, persecuted us, treated us as animals, and robbed us of people we loved. It is hard to believe that not all of them were on board with what their leaders chose to do** ,” Ember, the Woods Clan Ambassador spoke to her and many others nodded their heads in agreement with what she was saying.

“ **I know, Ember. Believe me but as you surely know, not all Mountain Men have died because not all of them are responsible for what their leaders chose to do. Not all of them were in favor of doing whatever was necessary to ensure their people’s survival, especially not the use of our people as blood containers for their use. There are good people in that place and I say so because I have met them. I have spent time with them. There are people who just want to live, there are children who are innocent of the crimes committed by their fathers, grandfathers and ancestors. There are brave men and women who fought for humanity, for what was right** ,

 **I know it is hard to believe. If I had not seen with my own eyes, I wouldn’t believe it myself but I have. Their new leader, appointed by me and by Clarke of the Sky People is the woman who saved our spy’s life once he was inside the Mountain. Not only that but she is the one that guided him inside the place and who helped him disable the acid fog. You see? Without her, we would not have won. We owe her and the others who helped her our victory. If she had not helped the moment our army got close, they would have sent the acid fog and we would all have died and even under the threat that helping us would mean the extermination of her people, she chose to help us anyway** ,” Lexa explained to them.

“ **I have to attest the truth in everything our Commander is saying. I have seen it for myself as well. The guilty ones for what happened to our people were those in power, not every one of them. They have all been very receptive of the demands we have made such as destroying their weapons and closing off the Mountain. I say that there are very good people in that place,** ” Anya said and Lexa looked at the woman and gave her a small nod in gratitude.

“ **Changing the subject, you said that you gave half of their weapons to the Sky People, was that a wise move Commander? What if they decided to use those weapons against us? Or even more so, become the new Mountain Men?** ” Gage, the Broadleaf Ambassador asked her.

“ **Very good questions, Gage and I am glad to answer them. Their leader is Clarke of the Sky people, the same one who come to me with an alliance. The time we spent planning the battle we also spent talking about the alliance and she has said that there is no threat coming from her people towards us and if there is, she will deal with it herself. According to her, her people doesn’t want any trouble, they simply want to be left in peace to make a life for themselves here on Earth and she has also agreed that an alliance between both of our people is much more beneficial than if either side were to attack the other and I agree** ,”

“ **The Sky People has not done anything against us so far. For what Anya has told me and what I have talked about with Clarke, their people had no idea of our existence. They believed that Praimfaya had destroyed everything and everyone, they weren’t even sure that the planet was survivable until the first hundred of them came down here. So, given that, of course that eve without knowing they ended up stepping into our path and a series of misunderstanding led to the path we were going until an alliance was made which was war** ,” She explained to her ambassadors trying to assuage their fears.

“ **They burned three hundred of our warriors alive, Commander. They exploded a bridge that has served as a trading route very important. They have killed our people** ,” Melvin, Rockline Ambassador said and Lexa nodded.

“ **Yes, Melvin but all of those were acts done in the midst of a war. They were attacked, they defended themselves. We can’t blame the victor for the losses of the defeated. They won against us fairly, they bested us and we suffered a defeat. As much as those that died were dear to us, they were warriors fighting in a war and our enemy won against us, we can’t fault them for that or else we all would be guilty of such a thing given the battles we have won against our enemies in the wars we have fought** ,” Lexa explained to them.

“ **Commander is right. We attacked them and they defeated us. They won and we must accept that. Even more, we must respect them for their strength, unity and intelligence. I heard in particular that the credit for their victories goes to their leader, Clarke of the Sky People whom our people has taken to calling her Sky Princess** ,” Faye of the Desert Clan spoke and Lexa nodded at her ambassador.

“ **Indeed, Clarke has proven to be an incredible asset to her people and to our people as well given that much of our plan of battle was her who created based on her knowledge but everything she did, she did not do by herself. She counts with a team in which she trusts and that has many people with remarkable skills, such as Raven of the Sky People who was responsible for disabling the acid fog and for opening the door to the Mountain,** ” Lexa told them and they were pensive about her words, which was good for her.

“ **I think that it is in our best interest to keep good relations with them. If these events have proven anything is that the Sky People, in particular the Sky Princess and her team would be much better as our allies than as our enemies** ,” Quentin of the Boat People said and many others agreed nodding their heads to what he said and Lexa sighed in relieved internally. Maybe it wouldn’t be so hard to achieve what she wanted and she couldn’t be happier for it.

“ **We can discuss that another time. For now, tell me what have I missed in this time I have been away from Polis? Anything I should know about what is happening in your respective clans?** ” Lexa said and one by one the Ambassadors started to relay to her their problems, their complaints and she tried her best to solve each and every single one of them and as the meeting went on for the rest of the day, she felt lighter knowing that her plan might not be as farfetched as she previously thought it would be. Maybe soon enough her Coalition would have 14 clans instead of 12.


	53. New Dawn, New Life

Today. Today was finally the day in almost a hundred years that their people would finally get to step outside of the restricting walls of the Mountain into the sunlight without the worry of burning to death. They would finally be able to enjoy Earth, touch flowers, see the trees, run in the grass, everything they had always dreamed of, today it would all come true. Maya woke up from her sleep quite early, the excitement being too big for her to be able to sleep in. Even though her alarm clock was supposed to ring at 7 am, at 6 am she was already wide awake and extremely excited about what this day will mean to her people.

Even more so with counting the fact that she is their leader, she is the one that is leading them towards this new dawn for their people and she could feel the heavy weight of that responsibility, but something inside of her also pushed her forward not letting her apprehensions take charge. It was funny that at the brink of her people’s destruction, she was able to find strength inside of her she had never known to be there before, had never thought that she possessed it. A strength that was carrying her through this new challenge that was thrown her way by the decision made by Clarke and Lexa to put her in this leadership position.

She had never thought before to be anywhere near such positions. Never once did she imagined such a thing happening, not in a million years, yet here she was at the new and improved room of the President. Once she was officially sworn in a few days ago, she was given the quarters previously used by the Wallace’s and one of the first thing she did was to cleanup of the place and get rid of everything that could remotely remind her of those maniacs who almost caused the destruction of their people simply by being megalomaniacs with no regard to human life whatsoever.

Maya wanted things to be different for her people now that those monsters were dead and gone for good. She wanted them to be a peaceful people, to live instead of fight, to love instead of kill, to be more and have more than they ever dreamed without destroying anyone else to get it. She wanted her people to be nothing like they used to be but more as they should be and she would do it, even if it was the last thing she did.

With that in mind, she got up from her bed and went to her bathroom to take a bath, freshen up and get dressed. She no longer wore her dresses but rather suits that much served the image of a President, however she made sure to be much more approachable then the Wallace’s ever were. Except for her clothing, she hardly changed, if at all which was good because that is exactly what she wanted to show her people, that she was different than they were, that she would be better than they were.

Once she was dressed, she looked at the clock and saw that it was 6:30 am and she decided to go check on Jasper who was staying with them though not in the same room as her. She had thought about it, taking their relationship to the next step but she had been so busy fixing everything that the Wallace’s broke that she didn’t feel like it was a good time for it and it really wasn’t but maybe one of these days she will gather the guts to do it. She wasn’t afraid of it, she was sure Jasper would be loving and gentle but it was still her first time, though she really couldn’t wish for it to be with anyone else but him.

She really, really loved him and knew that he really loved her as well and that was all that mattered. That despite everything that had happened between their people, their love was winning and that they were still together, she couldn’t be gladder to have met him. Arriving in his quarters, she knocked on the door a few times and waited for a few seconds before the door opened to reveal a messy haired and still almost asleep Jasper on the other side and she couldn’t help but smile at the image she was seeing in front of her.

“Where is the fire?” Jasper asked looking frantically front side to side and Maya couldn’t help but chuckle at what he was saying.

“Jas, it’s me Maya. There is no fire, relax. I just came to wake you up,” She said to him and he looked at her and finally seemed to register what was going on and he chuckled as well.

“Sorry. I think I might still be sleeping and you know it’s not good to wake a person that is sleepwalking so,” he said jokingly and she smiled at him.

“Well, I just came to see if you were up already considering what is happening today but I guess you are right, you should go back to sleep. When it’s time, I will come and get you then, okay?” She said and moved forward before kissing him on the cheek and walking away before she heard him call for her so she stopped and turned to look at him.

“Wait,” He said and walked towards her before holding her hands, “I’m sorry. Just give me five minutes and I will be ready. I want to be there for you and for everyone else, I just lost track of time. I’m sorry. Really just five minutes,” he said to her really apologetically.

“Hey, there is nothing to apologize. To be honest, it’s still quite early and everyone is probably still asleep. I just couldn’t stay in bed any longer, that’s all. Nothing is going to happen for a while yet. I will probably just spend the time at the office overlooking the projects the guys brought for me yesterday. Seriously, go back to bed and sleep some more or I will feel bad about it,” She said to him as she let go of one of his hands to cup his cheek.

“Are you sure? This is not one of those situations where you say is okay for me to go to sleep when is actually not okay and I go and you get angry, is it?” He asked her. She chuckled at him.

“No, this is absolutely not one of those times. This is one of the times in which I will get angry if you don’t go. I mean it, Jas. Get some more rest. I would too if I wasn’t too hyped up,” Maya said to him and he nodded. He really was super tired so he nodded and hugged her as she hugged him back and when they pulled back, he walked away and back to his room as she smiled at him until he walked inside and closed the door.

She just shook her head smiling still before she turned to walk away from there and in the direction of her office. She would wait to have breakfast once everyone had woken up. She pressed the code to open the door and walked inside turning on the lights and got rid of her jacket before she sat down in her chair and sighed in relief before she grabbed the projects and started going through them. She didn’t have much experience or knowledge about it but she had been studying a little about it to be sure that it would be beneficial for everyone.

She immersed herself on the work so much, she was so concentrated on making sure it was coming together the way she was planning, that she didn’t notice time passing by and she only looked up from the drawings of the houses they were thinking about building on the outside of this place as the Commander demanded when she heard a knock on the door and it was Meagan standing outside it. Maya readily waved her in and the girl came inside the office.

“Hey. Good morning. I wasn’t expecting your visit this early,” Maya said as she greeted the older girl who only smiled at her.

“Good morning and I am not here for a visit. I am here to collect you to go and have breakfast with the rest of your people who are all waiting for you. It was supposed to be Jasper but he thinks that you are still here because you are angry with him and he was low key scared to come,” Meagan explained and Maya chuckled lightly before she looked at the clock and saw that it was already 8 am in the morning.

“I kind of lost track of time and of course, I am not angry at him. Let me get my jacket and we can go,” Maya said to her and Meagan nodded. She stood and put her jacket back on before the two girls walked out of the room, Maya not forgetting to lock it behind her.

Once they arrived at the dining hall, Maya walked up to her designated seat and saw Jasper looking nervous sitting beside her. She shook her head chuckling and sat down and noticed him looking at her so the only thing she did was to smile at him and kiss him on the cheek for him to relax and turns out it was the only thing she needed to do, no words were needed, that small gesture showed him she was indeed not angry with him and he gave her another smile before she started eating her breakfast along with all the others. Once everyone was done and full, Maya stood up and called their attention to her and they all turned their heads to look at her. She took a deep breath before she started speaking to them.

“Today is the day that we finally get to step outside without the fear of contamination and death,” She said and they cheered before they made silent again for her to continue, “I want us to remember this day but most of all I want us to remember how we accomplished today. Not by hate or cruelty but by union, alliance and by being humans. Today, we are faced with the start of a new journey, a journey we know nothing about. We don’t know what is going to happen to us tomorrow, a week, a month, a year, ten years from now,”

“But that is the beauty of life, the beauty of a life we hadn’t had the chance to enjoy but will do so now. We will live day by day and we will prosper and we will thrive,” She finished speaking and everyone cheered for her and for this new future waiting for them.

“So, if everyone is ready, how about we go play outside?” Maya said and everyone stood up from their seats and started making their way towards the doors. Maya and Jasper were leading them and once they came to a stop in front of it, Maya started to get nervous. What if the treatment didn’t work? What if she was leading her people to their deaths? All these thoughts were running through her head but then, Jasper held her hand and when she looked at him and saw the caring look in his eyes, she decided to just go for it.

So, without further ado, she punched in the code and the door opened. By the tiny space it opened, they could already feel the sun and when nothing seemed to be happening Maya and Jasper pushed the door opened all the way and when she saw the outside, Maya almost passed out with how beautiful it was. Jasper tugged at her hand and they started walking forward and as the people saw that nothing had happened to Maya, they started venturing out as well, taking it all in for the first time in their lives.

No one could describe the feeling they felt stepping outside feeling the sunrays on their face, feeling the wind blowing around them, it was indescribable. Nothing could compare to it. Soon enough, everyone was outside, the children were running around and rolling on the grass, people were laughing and joking around and Maya could only watch them and try her best to keep the tears at bay. No one but them would understand what this means, it was everything everyone of them ever dreamed of and now they were fulfilling it for good.

No longer would they have to worry about going outside and dying of intoxication. Instead, now they would be living in this side of the door, never having to feel trapped in the dungeons of the Mountain, never again having to drawn people of their blood. As Jasper wrapped his arms around her waist from behind and she leaned against him, she could finally say, looking at her people that they were free. And it was by far the best feeling she ever felt. Now, they have a future to look forward to and she couldn’t be happier.


	54. Judging Day

The sun was coming up in the sky and Lexa was finishing her meditation, having woken up quite some time ago since she had the same nightmare again as she did the previous nights. Though it’s not really a nightmare, it’s more like the memory of the moment when Titus shot her, the feeling of the bullet piercing her skin, the despair of thinking that she would be leaving Clarke and her people alone to deal with everything that was going on, the idea of her nightbloods going to the conclave and murdering each other which was something she had wanted to change before she died so they wouldn’t have to do it but didn’t have the time.

All of it came to her in the shape of a nightmare and she was left quite shaken up because of it. Nightmares were a part of her night since she became a commander, the flame using her sleeping moments to show her images or memories and all of that. Later on her own actions became a source for them, but this one for some reason left her more shaken up than usual so she didn’t go back to sleep, instead Lexa chose to meditate into the Citadel, talk with Ema to try and relax a little and also get some advice before she would come back and start her day.

She was called back from her meditation by the sound of the radio cracking and the voice coming out of it. It was Clarke calling for her, sounding quite worried and frantic, so Lexa quickly opened her eyes and got up from her usual meditating spot by the end of her bed and walked to her bedside table and grabbed the device answering. “Clarke, is it you?” She said feeling quite surprised since she had spoken with the girl the previous night and only thought they would talk again quite later in the day as they had agreed.

“Thank God, Lexa. I have been calling you for hours. I was just about to get one of the rovers to go there,” Clarke said sighing and the distress on her voice was clear which got Lexa worried.

“Why? Is there something wrong? Are you in danger?” Lexa asked her getting worried herself about what reason Clarke could have to be like this so desperate.

“No, I’m not in danger and there is nothing wrong with me. But there is something wrong with you, I can feel it. I felt it a while ago, like you were scared and desperate and unsettled and I tried calling you but you didn’t answer which only made me more worried,” Clarke explained and Lexa frowned. Could Clarke have been saying she felt what exactly Lexa was feeling in her dream and after?

“Clarke, what do you mean you felt I was feeling those things?” Lexa asked her trying to understand what was going on with them and she heard the blonde girl sigh at the other end of the connection.

“I don’t know how to explain Lexa but it was like I could feel what you were feeling and that is how I knew something was wrong. You were restless and afraid, I don’t know. Just please tell me what is going on. What happened? Did you get attacked? Please, I’ve been worried sick,” Clarke begged and Lexa could hear the despair in her voice.

“I am okay, Clarke. I did not get attacked or anything. I simply had a nightmare about the time Titus you know and I was remembering what I felt at the moment but I promise I am okay now. I was just shaken up because of it a little. It passed,” Lexa explained and Clarke sighed in relief that the girl was okay and that nothing had happened to her.

“Clarke, do you think that this connection has to do with our love and what happened to us? Because it seems like you can feel what I feel and I remember that when I was in the fight, I could hear you telling me to get up?” Lexa asked through the radio and Clarke didn’t know how to answer that.

“I don’t know but after everything we have been through the past months, I wouldn’t say it’s impossible,” Clarke told her. Lexa thought about it and as she thought of something, she couldn’t help but chuckle.

“What is it? Why are you laughing?” Clarke asked having heard it and Lexa took a deep breath before she explained her line of thoughts.

“In our relationship, it is safe to say that I am the head and you are the heart, isn’t it?” Lexa said to Clarke and the blonde nodded even though the brunette couldn’t see it.

“Yes, you are way more rational about things than I am so I think you could say that, why?” Clarke said not understanding where Lexa was going with this.

“Does it appear too much of a coincidence to you that given that fact I seem to be able to read your thoughts and you seem to able to feel my emotions?” Lexa asked her and Clarke thought about what she was saying. It really too much of a coincidence and if they knew something was that in this new life, nothing could be that casual.

“Do you think you could ask Becca through the Flame? Is she even the same Becca that helped us? I am so confused about this part of the time travel,” Clarke replied and Lexa chuckled.

“I know, it confuses me too sometimes but she is the same one. Given the fact that she was the one behind this time travel, it was only fair that she was, right? Maybe I will have a talk with her about this connection we seem to have though if it is true, it can be really advantageous,” Lexa told her and Clarke chuckled at that.

“Of course, you would think about what can be advantageous or not about this situation,” She said chuckling and Lexa smiled at that.

“Well, I wouldn’t be one of the longest running Commanders if I didn’t think about such things now, would I? Anyway, I will talk to her to see if we are not going crazy. As soon as I have news, I will tell you,” Lexa said to her girlfriend.

“Okay. I have to get up and start my day as well as start planning my coup d’état so that hopefully by the time you come here, things will be the way they should have been before,” Clarke told her and Lexa sighed.

“Just please, be careful. Jaha can be a dangerous man if threatened and I don’t want anything to happen to you, okay?” Lexa said to Clarke who smiled on the other end of the line.

“Look who’s taking, the girl who is working closely with her own murderer. But yes, I promise I will be careful and Jaha is not that dangerous, not without A.L.I.E as his backup and I have the other three musketeers with me so I will be fine,” Clarke said to her and Lexa sighed in relief.

“Okay, talk to you later. I love you,” Lexa said and Clarke promptly said it back before they both disconnected the call.

Once the call was over, Lexa took in a deep breath, letting it all out before she got up from the bed and went towards her bathroom to do her morning routine to get ready for the day and once she was in her whole commander gear, braids and all, she walked to the lift and went all the way down to the kitchen to grab something to eat, accompanied of course by Gustus who was already waiting outside of her room as he usually did. He was an extremely quiet man, only speaking out when he thought necessary or when she asked his opinion.

Lexa usually has breakfast in the kitchen instead of the dining room since she prefers there, to be around her people, but of course only if she is alone. When she is being accompanied by any of the Ambassadors or a guest, then she makes sure they get the best of treatment and accompanies them. Some people think she basks in the privileges that being Commander and having people obey your every order give her but she was quite the humble person, never wanting to give any more trouble for the people who worked for her than necessary.

When she became Commander, she would clean up her own room and the person responsible for that had to tell her that she would be without job if Lexa continued to do it so she stopped and accepted that the people who worked here liked working here and for her, so she made sure to have the best relationship with all of them. The moment she entered the kitchen, the workers who were talking and joking among themselves straightened up and bowed before her, as it was the tradition as she chuckled and shook her head.

“ **Good morning, guys. How are you today?** ” Lexa asked them and it was something she usually did. She knew all of the people who worked in the tower as well as their family.

“ **Good morning Commander. We are great, thank you. What would you like us to prepare for you today? Anything special?** ” Nadia, the cooking chief, asked her as Lexa pulled out a chair to sit down by the table.

“ **The usual would be fine Nadia. Now tell me, what is the latest gossip you guys were talking about?** ” Lexa asked them as she relaxed against the chair and they started telling her as waited for her food participating in the conversation with them.

Most of them had been working in the kitchen since she was a small nightblood, some since she could remember so they had all seen her grown up into the woman and Commander she was today. All of them were like friends to her, especially Nadia who was the oldest one in charge and who had been responsible for taking care of Lexa when she was just a small child brought to the capitol and the tower by the Order. She was Lexa’s aunt, sister of her mother who asked her sister to look after her daughter, and also someone that many times advised her on what to do when she was feeling doubtful of herself.

Soon enough, the food was served and Lexa started eating as she continued to listen to the conversations and the gossips of who was thinking about bonding with who, laughing at a joke that Pado, the youngest worker was telling the others. Then, as the other workers continued the conversation, Nadia came and sat down beside Lexa who continued eating her food but was now paying attention to the woman beside her and zoning out the other voices.

“ **Something is weighing heavy on you, my child. I can see it in your eyes, you have a heavy and important decision ahead of you to make, do you not?** ” The older woman asked her and Lexa sighed heavily at that.

“ **I already made the decision, Aunt Nadia. All I need is for the Ambassadors to support me in it and there lies the weight of the situation, to get them to agree with me on it will be the hard part** ,” Lexa said to her and Nadia nodded her head, understanding.

“ **You are smarter than those 12 ambassadors put together times ten. I know you know how to work them in your favor, prey to their weakness, play to their ambitions if needed. You can do it. You can convince anyone of anything if you put your mind to it. You are a gifted person, Lexa. Use that** ,” Nadia told her and Lexa looked at her and nodded.

“ **I am going to. Many people are counting on that right now so I have to be and do all of that to ensure their safety and our prosperity. It certainly won’t be easy but if I got Nia to surrender to me, I can get them on board of my plans, right?** ” Lexa said to her. Nadia smiled.

The doors to the kitchen area were opened and Gustus came inside looking for her. Once he found her, he walked up to her as Nadia looked up at the guard. “ **It is time to go Commander. Your duties wait for you**.”

“ **Gustus, seriously. At least let the poor girl eat. Can’t you see how skinny she is?** ” Nadia said to him and Lexa chuckled at that. Nadia always say that about her, that she is too skinny.

“ **She is not skinny Nadia. She is perfectly fine and right now she is needed at the throne room to start the judgments on the criminals we currently have in the prison,** ” He said to the woman who only shook her head and sighed.

“ **How in the name of the Spirits I could have married such a broody man, I will** **never know,** ” Nadia said as he puffed up his chest at that and Lexa just chuckled as she watched the couple.

Nadia and Gustus have been bonded for over 24 years. They were recently bonded when Lexa was born and when Lexa came to live in the capitol, the couple made sure to be there for her as best as they could, they were the only family she had in the city and which it’s why it was so hard for Lexa to kill Gustus the last time. He was her uncle by bond, he knew the risk of what he was planning to do and did it anyway, leaving her with no choice. Luckily, her aunt understood what she did and why she did and didn’t resent her.

“ **Because you love him very much and as much as I would like to stay and talk to you, I do really have to go. There is much to be done but I promise I will come back and we will catch up, okay?** ” Lexa said to Nadia who nodded her head smiling at her niece.

“ **I will hold you to that promise, little Lexie** ,” She replied and Lexa only smiled before she stood up from her seat walked over to her aunt, kissed her on the head before she made her way out, going towards the throne room.

Today was what they called Judging Day, every week Lexa would judge the people who committed a crime and pass on punishment accordingly. It was not her favorite day but she knew how important it was to maintain safety within their clans at least so she continued to do it. Once the lift opened, Lexa walked towards the throne room and stood outside it before she took a deep breath and motioned for the door to open so she could walk in to yet another day in her life as Commander of the 12 clans, hopefully soon enough, of the 14 clans.


	55. The Seer

Once she finished with the judgments which went late into the day, given how much begging it was done, with them pleading her for the lightest punishment possible and also given the fact that every case she got was turned into a lesson she taught to the nightbloods. Once one criminal would leave, she would speak with them and explain why her decision was made the way it was and how they can make their own when one of them becomes Commander once she is dead, which was needed for them to be aware on what it took to be Heda, but in hindsight, delayed the process of judgement and made it take twice longer to be finished and all criminals be heard and judged as well as receive the punishments she seemed fit.

It was the end of the afternoon and the beginning of the night when Lexa was finally able to call it a day and have the rest of the night for herself. Sometimes, her job was so hectic and demanding she didn’t even get that, having to work well into the night to wake up early the next day and continue working. After coming to her room, Lexa relaxed a little before she had an idea pop up in her head. In Polis, lived one of the eldest people they had, a woman called Joanna. She was 91 years old and was born 6 years after Praimfaya hit Earth the first time so she witnessed every single change and every fall and rise of a Commander.

No one knew the history better than her after all she was there. Not many people knew, Titus certainly didn’t, Lexa made sure of that, that at times, she went to visit and talk with Joanna about things. The woman is said to be a seer, someone could have visions of the past, present and future and who knows things most people do not. She was a good friend of Lexa’s. It was her that told Lexa when she was just a kid that she would be the new Commander one day and that she would help destroy their people’s biggest enemies, even the ones yet to come but only if she found the strength within the heart to do so.

She never knew what that meant when she was a child and even years after, she had never cracked those words, but as she laid in her couch and thought about this connection she seems to have with Clarke, she thought that maybe Becca shouldn’t be the only source to know what that is. So, she got up from where she had laid down to rest and went into one of the smaller rooms where she kept her clothes, changed them into more secretive one, undid her braid, tying her hair in a low bun, grabbed one large coat that had a hood in it and once she was dressed, she walked out of her room.

One of the guards was doing patrol and the other one was Alanon kom Trikru, Gustus and Nadia’s son and Lexa’s cousin, also her partner in crime. As both of his parents always worked closely with the Commander and the tower, Alanon practically grew up in the tower with Lexa and they would often run away from the guards, wrecking all kinds of havoc along the way. They always found a way to go out to the city even when Titus forbade her from doing it so they knew many, if not all, secret entrances in the tower, which is why when he saw the dressing code she had, he already knew what she would be doing.

“ **If anyone comes, should I tell them you’re already asleep?** ” Alanon asked her looking at her and she smiled at him, more than a cousin, he was like a brother to her.

“ **Yes, please. I won’t be too long, and I will be careful. Promise** ,” She told him, and he smirked at her, nodding his head.

“ **You better or else, mom and dad are going to kill me** ,” He said to her and she nodded at him and walked in the opposite direction of the lift, going to find one of the entrances.

Once she got to it, she went inside along with a small torch and got to work. Her quarters were on the last floor of the tower, to make more difficult to get to her, but it also made it more difficult for her to escape like this. She just worried about how to get out and go see Joanna without anyone noticing but she had done this before so she just trusted in herself and in about 15 minutes, she finally reached the ground level and escaped through a very difficult to find entrance that she alone found during one of her many treasure hunts escapades. No guards saw her or even heard her leave and in no time at all, she was walking along in the streets of the capitol with her hood covering half of her face.

Joanna’s house was quite distant from the center of the capitol since there resided the market and it was too loud for someone with her abilities and with her age. So, Lexa had to walk quite a while before she came to the more recluse part of the city where the woman lived and come to stop at the door of her house. The young Commander took a deep breath, feeling lucky that no one suspected her to be anything but someone passing by and was about to knock on the door when she was surprised by the fact the door opened before she could even raise her hand and Joanna was standing on the other side with a knowing smile on her face.

“ **I have to say I was expecting you much sooner than this, my child** ,” The woman said smiling and Lexa was a bit surprised at that comment.

“ **You knew I was coming?** ” She asked and the woman whose eyes were grey given the fact that she was blind and whose face was filled with rugs that showed the age she had smiled.

“ **Come inside and we will talk about why you are here**. **I sense you have many questions for me** ,” Joanna simply said and stepped aside to give space for Lexa to come in and she did. Once the door was closed, she removed the hood and followed the woman to her living room, sitting down on the couch as the elder sat down on her chair and looked straight at her

“ **You are different than all of the previous Commanders our people had ever had or will ever have, Alexandria of the Woods Clan. You are and have more than you were or had when you left. I see two of you living inside your mind, one from here and one from then** ,” Joana spoke in her dreamy like voice and Lexa immediately knew what she was talking about. Her memories from the other timeline and the memories of this new one she was living in.

“ **I have memories about things that has not passed here, but that was true in some other time** ,” Lexa said honestly, and the woman nodded.

“ **You were given a second chance to right the wrongs that were done and that resulted in your death and the end of the world. That is very good. If you do it right, the cosmic universe will be balanced again** ,” Joanna said cryptically and Lexa frowned at that.

“ **That is something I don’t understand. Why me? How come my death brings all of that I saw in the other life? How can I be so important that the Powers That Be would go to all this trouble to bring me back to life?** ” Lexa leaned forward and asked the woman.

“ **You are asking the wrong questions, my child. You are seeing the surface of the issue but what it is underneath it is what needs to be understood. You see, the truth is that alone, you are not important but together, you are crucial. The universe has a balance, one that leads mind to heart and heart to mind. When that balanced is damaged, everything which is based on that falls into destruction, and darkness are what awaits us. To avoid that, the balance must be maintained. You as the mind, being alive is only half of the equation needed for that balance** ,” Joanna explained to her and Lexa stared at the woman.

“ **The other half of the equation would it be Clarke?** ” She asked and the woman gave her a small smile before she titled her head to the side.

“ **Many years ago, a young child came to me with many questions on whether she would be a good Commander if she would win her Conclave or not. I told her she would do for our people what has never been done before, that she would defeat our greatest enemies, even the ones to come and that could not be seen but I told her there was one condition to that** ,” Joanna said as she looked in Lexa’s direction.

“ **That she would only accomplish that when she found the strength in the heart she had lost** ,” Lexa supplied the condition and the woman nodded.

“ **The young child, now a grown woman found the heart she had lost. Not the one beating inside her chest but the heart beating in the chest of the one who is half of her** ,” Joanna said.

“ **That’s Clarke, right?** ” Lexa asked her and Joanna hummed, not agreeing and not denying what the brunette had said.

“I will answer you what you want to know when the whole come to see me. Head and heart, as one. Not one, not the other. The whole,” Joanna said once again, and Lexa sighed. The answers she looked for the connection could only be answered when she and Clarke came together to see Jonna. It wouldn’t take so long for that to happen hopefully.

“ **Very well. What else do you see about me?** ” Lexa asked her and the woman took a moment as she looked up before she returned her face to look at Lexa.

“ **You will have to war win before you can have what you so desperately want, but you will have it. And once you do, so will your people. Their future is completely intertwined with your own, child. You are happy, they are happy. You are sad, they are sad. You have peace, they have peace and so on. You did not come to this world to be just one more Commander. You came to be the Commander. Your destiny is far bigger than what you imagine and if you fulfill it, your place as the most important figure in our history will never be defeated**. But for you to have a chance to fulfill your destiny, you will need the heart,” Joanna said to her.

After that, Lexa said goodbye to the Seer and went back to the tower. Once she was safely back in her room and had talked to Clarke as she usually did, she started to think about the words the Seer told her about her role to play in the future of her people. For her, it meant that she has much to work for to make sure that her people can get the future she envisioned for them and apparently for that, she needs to make sure she gets the same future for herself and only with Clarke by her side can she do that. She didn’t doubt it before but now, she had the confirmation she needed. Clarke was what had always been missing from her life and she would make sure to never let them be separated again. Never.


	56. Bad Surprise

Clarke had woken up from her sleep feeling things she was sure she wasn’t the one experiencing them which was a surprise in and out of itself for her, but given the fact that she had been able to do something similar other times and it had been related to Lexa, she instantly knew that her girlfriend had to be the one feeling those things and her worry for the brunette commander grew immediately when the feelings intensified so badly Clarke had no choice but to wake up from her sleep. She tried to send calming waves to the brunette to this connection they seem to have but she wasn’t sure it was working.

So she quickly gave up on that, turned to the side grabbed the radio and tried to make contact with the brunette. Clarke called her name so many times but nothing. No reply from Lexa. Her worry simply started to grow bigger and bigger and she was feeling herself get restless wondering if something was happening with her girlfriend and she wouldn’t be able to do anything to stop it. She was literally about to change her clothes so she could get the rover and go to Polis when she decided to call one more time and this time, Lexa answered it.

The relief to hear her voice and know that she is safe and alive was so big that Clarke felt like a ton of weight was taken off her shoulders and off her heart. They started talking about what had happened and Lexa told her she had a nightmare about her death, hence the feelings Clarke seemed to have felt which was another topic they discussed. Could their connection really make them be able to know each other’s thoughts and feelings? She didn’t know but she wasn’t complaining at all about it. Lexa then said she would try to ask Becca about it and promised to call Clarke later on and soon after that they said goodbye.

Clarke put the radio back in its place and leaned back against the metal wall at the headboard of her bed and took a few deep breaths to relax after the scare she just had. The thought of something happening to Lexa again and for her to not be able to save the brunette terrified the hell out of her. She couldn’t lose Lexa again or ever, for that matter. She wouldn’t survive, they have to be together until they are very, very old and wrinkled. Clarke will not accept anything else. She and Lexa will have their happily ever after and for a very long time.

Once the scare faded a little bit and she was able to calm herself and her worries down, she looked beside her and saw that the clock was marking 4:45 am. Clarke sighed knowing that there was no way she would be able to go back to sleep and even if she did, she was sure she would have a nightmare about Lexa’s death as well and she didn’t want that at all, so she decided to start her day already. First off, she changed her sleep clothes into her work out ones and started her morning exercises, the same one she used to do in her cell back in the Ark. She needed to vent a little bit and so she pushed herself in it.

She did more push-ups, more sit-ups, more of everything she usually did when training and the time went on. When she was finished with it, all sweaty and panting from the exertion, it was already 6:30 am so she decided that it was enough and went to get a shower since she promised to have breakfast with her family. In half an hour, she took her shower, got changed, went out of her room and walked all the way towards the dining hall greeting the people as she passed by them. Once she got to the hall, she looked around and saw her parents and Charlotte sitting on a table so she quickly went to get her breakfast before she walked towards them and sat down besides the younger Griffin.

“Sorry for being late. I lost track of time. Good morning guys,” She said greeting them and they nodded at her smiling.

“Good morning. It’s okay sweetie. We have not been here for much longer than you anyway,” Abby said to her and Clarke smiled nodding at her mother as she kissed and hugged Charlotte.

“What were you guys talking about? Anything interesting?” Clarke asked them as she started to eat her food and her parents looked at each other before they sighed.

“We were talking about the meeting we had with the Council and the Chancellor yesterday. Can you believe that Jaha is thinking about breaking the alliance we have with the grounders claiming that we don’t need them and can do very well for ourselves, supported by many of the other Council members who feel like the grounder are taking control? Obviously neither us or Kane agree with him but just the three of us voting against it can’t stop him from doing that if he really wants to,” Jake explained to her and Clarke was shocked.

“He has completely lost his mind, hasn’t he? How can he even think about doing that? We need the grounders and they need us. We cannot expect to live here in peace and prosper if we don’t work with them for that,” Clarke said to them and her parents nodded.

“We agree with you, sweetheart. We strongly believe that the only way for us to move forward here on Earth and to have a good life is for us to work with the grounders, they have knowledge of this world that we don’t and we have knowledge of things that they don’t. It is a very lucrative partnership for both people being a part of this alliance. That is without even talking about how good it is to not feel as if we are on the brink of a war with them and need to be constantly looking over our shoulders for danger.”

“But you have to understand, honey, that Thelonious is struggling very much with reasserting his power over the people after these past months, in which not only the 100 but the rest of us have followed you, recognized your power, your authority. You are for many people here the true leader of the Sky People, the one they tryst to protect and do what is best for them and as much as that worries me when it comes to your safety, your father made me realize that no one is completely safe anyway and that you are a natural when it comes to this. Thelonious has not accepted how important you became to our people and I am not sure that he ever will,” Abby explained to her daughter as Clarke smiled at her.

“The problem in the situation is not what he thinks of the grounder. The problem that he is being very petty when it comes to who gets to be our leader. So, what if Clarke gets all the power? So what if he doesn’t rule over us the way he used to? If he really cared about his people the way he says he does, he would see the good Clarke has done for us from the beginning and that the best thing for him would be to try to work with Clarke. He may hold the title of Chancellor, a title I don’t think he deserves to have for a really long time now, but Clarke hold the real power. He should be trying to help her, not try to undermine her just to have the power himself,” Charlotte said to them.

“You are absolutely right, pumpkin. Thelonious shouldn’t be so worked up about losing power to Clarke, he should only be concerned if she was doing a poor job in taking care of our people, which she isn’t. But the thing is that he is obviously blinded by his need to be our people’s savior and apparently he can’t take the fact that our people think that such savior is no other than your sister,” Jake said to the little girl who nodded understanding what he was saying.

“That is a dangerous road to go down, Dad. He is not only putting himself at risk thinking like that but also our people and we cannot allow him to continue to be in charge if that is the way he wants to do things from now on. He may have worked as a Chancellor in the Ark, in those situations, in that context, with those rules, and with what was at stake then. But, if there is one thing that is bluntly clear, it’s that he is certainly not cut out to be the Chancellor here on Earth where everything is different than what we thought it would be.”

“We need someone that can adapt to the new and help bring us into it. We need new members on the Council, members that are ready to work for the people and not simply make decisions that they want, abusing of their rank and authority. We need people who wants us to prosper the right way and that is not him,” Clarke said to her family and all three of them nodded their heads at her agreeing with what she was saying.

“We know all that but only a Chancellor can indicate new council members and unless an election is called for, which I don’t think is going to happen anytime soon, Thelonious still is the running Chancellor and the council will remain the same as it is now, with the same people who have the same outdated and prejudiced mindset and we will still be subjected to what they say under the threat of being imprisoned for treason otherwise. Unfortunately, that is the way things are looking for our people right now,” Abby explained to the girls.

“Yeah, well, who knows? Maybe our people will surprise us and call for an election. If they do, I hope that this time they will make the right choice for the job,” Clarke said to them as they continued to have their breakfast in family changing the subject to lighter ones like Charlotte helping in MedBay and being a more obedient helper than Clarke was which opened the room for heavy teasing and laughter by everyone, Clarke included. They were having much fun until Clarke saw Raven and Murphy approaching their table until they finally joined the family, standing by the table.

“Fondest greeting to the Griffin’s,” Murphy said bowing down politely greeting them and they smiled at his antics though given how they were all close to Clarke, the Griffin clan was certainly already used to it by now.

“Greeting to you as well Mr. Murphy,” Abby said greeting the boy who gave a small smirk back at her while Raven chuckled at the seriousness and they all followed her, smiling as well.

“Good morning guys. We were wondering if we could steal Clarke for a bit? We have a lot to talk about with her. You wouldn’t mind, would you?” Raven said to them and the blonde’s parents and Charlotte, all shook their heads.

“Of course not, I was already starting to feel that it was odd the fact that no one had come looking for her yet, given how she is called to solve everything around this place. Go ahead. I have to go to work and Abby and Charlie have to go to MedBay. We will see you later, kiddo,” Jake said as Clarke chuckled a napkin at her father.

“Very funny dad and I will see you guys later as well,” She said to him as she stood up from her chair. She moved to kiss Charlotte in the head. “Behave, be a good girl and learn a lot,” She said to her sister and the younger girl smile and nodded at her.

“Consider it done,” Charlotte agreed, and Clarke smiled before she walked around the table and hugged both of her parents.

“I love you guys,” She said to them as they replied to her that they also loved her and Abby made her promise to be careful before Clarke followed the other two out of the dining hall.

“Okay, what is going on? Did anything happen that I am not aware of?” She asked her friends and they shook their heads.

“No, it’s nothing like that. Kane has asked for us to go to his room because he has some things he needs to talk to us about and you are the only one who has the answers to his questions,” Murphy explained and Clarke nodded.

The three friends walked through the Station until they came to a stop in front of Kane’s room and Raven knocked on the door. Luckily, they didn’t have to wait too long before the door was opened and they were greeted by Kane, who invited them all inside. The three friends walked in and got settled down in his living room before he sat down with them and turned to speak with them. “You don’t have to worry. Callie is with my mother, so it is safe to speak in here,” He told them and they all relaxed.

“What did you want to talk about with me, Kane?” Clarke asked the man who took a deep breath before running his fingers through his hair.

“We are going to have to get Jaha out of the Chancellor position sooner than we thought,” He spoke to the kids.

“Why do you say that, old man?” Murphy asked him, frowning his brows as did Raven. Clarke, however, already knew where this was coming from.

“My parents told me just now that in the Council meeting, Jaha spoke about cutting ties with the grounders for good and things like that. We were actually talking about it before you guys arrived,” Clarke explained a bit to them, who were both shocked and pissed.

“That guy is a universal jackass. What is he thinking?” Murphy said, no pity for the Chancellor and Raven nodded her head, agreeing with him.

“I’m afraid Clarke that is not even the worse,” Kane said slowly and Clarke along with Raven and Murphy all looked at him with worried looks on their faces.

“What are you talking about, Kane? What can be worse than that?” Raven asked their friend.

“The reason I called you here Clarke, was to ask you what are your plans for Farm Station and Pike? When are we getting them back? Answer me, please and then I will tell you what I know about Thelonius,” Kane said to the girl who was growing more worried by the second.

Clarke decided to do as he asked and answered his question, “Well, at first, I thought that the best thing to do was to maybe go after them soon so that they wouldn’t come to hate the grounders so much. But then, I realized that Pike and Hanna would hate them no matter how long they spent in Azgeda territory, be it one day or three months. So, when I talked to Lexa about it, we decided to let history run its course with them and only rescue them three months from now. That will mean that a lot of them will die, and they will hate the grounders, yes but it will also give us the time we need to make sure that our people create a great relationship with them. That way even if Pike returns, no one will side with him.”

She explained to everyone and they all seemed to ponder her choice, Kane more than the others. “I think it is brilliant. It’s sad about the people that unfortunately has to die but Pike is too much of a danger to be brought back too soon,” Murphy said agreeing with her.

“Yeah, I think so too. If we have three months before they get here, it means we have three months to build a friendship with the grounders or at least with Trikru and that will lessen the swage he can have on the people and avoid him rising to power again,” Raven told them her opinion who also agreed with Clarke’s plan.

“Now, it’s your turn to speak, Kane. Why were you worried about that and what does it have to do with Jaha?” Clarke asked the man as the three young friends looking at him, waiting.

“I needed to ask you that because after the Council meeting, when we were dismissed, your parents were the first ones out of the room and I was following them when I noticed that the other members were not coming out of the room so I stayed behind to eavesdrop on their conversation and one of them was speaking about how instead of making allies of the grounders, that we should wipe them out with our weapons and take what they have,” Kane told them and they all froze on the spot.

He continued, “So I was asking about Pike because if you told me that he was coming soon, I would have been extremely worried that instead of finding opposition to his domination plans, he will find support from the Council. So that is why I think we need to do this fast because we never know what can happen. Say something guys.”

Clarke was beyond shocked. She needed some time to recover from what she just heard from him. Jaha was thinking about waging war against the grounders? She thought on that matter she only needed to worry about Pike but maybe that is not the truth. Maybe there are more people like Pike in power here in Arkadia than she had previously thought to be. As she had all these thoughts on her heads, both Murphy and Raven as hot-heads they are, both jumped from their seats and started pacing around, calling the members of the Council all the obscenities they knew and between the two of them, Clarke was having a lesson.

That was until she called out to them, “Stop! Both of you,” She said and they stopped before looking at her, “Sit down and we will talk about this, please,” They looked at each other and couldn’t help but do as she said and both of them sat down again before she took a deep breath and while looking at all of them, she started speaking.

“I think we made a mistake in thinking that Pike was the only one who could cause us this kind of trouble. No doubt he is the most likely to go for it sooner rather than later and maybe the hardest to defeat but not the only one who sees the benefit in eliminating the grounders. And as pissed off as I am by what Jaha and the others were thinking, I am grateful. If they hadn’t talked about it, we would never know what they were capable off but now we do, and we can start planning for their downfall faster than we thought. So, I don’t know about you but in my head, I will count this as a win for us,” Clarke explained her thoughts to them.

“Okay, I can see your point. It’s better to know than to be going on blind, so what do we do now?” Raven asked her and Clarke turned to look at her friend smiling.

“Tomorrow, we stage our coup and take control of that pin once and for all.”


	57. Hearing Day

It was the beginning of a new day and luckily this time, Lexa’s mind seemed to have given her a break since there were no nightmares about her death or anything else. All in all, it was a relaxing night for her and Lexa felt much better and well rested than before, but most importantly, she felt more secure in her decisions regarding the joining of Skaikru and Maunon after speaking with Joanna about her role in the future of her people. More than ever, she knew that she needed to make her plans come to life and get them to work. They were the best course of action for creating the better world she had always dreamed for her people, the world she can create with Clarke by her side.

And with this renew in her strength to fight for what she believes is right, Lexa got up early to get ready for yet another day of work. Today is Hearing day. It is about people coming to her with their complains or seeking her advice on what to do about a number of things and although at times it can be a little tedious and some concerns don’t even need her interference at all with how silly and easy to solve they can be, but she knows how important it is to keep this close relationship with her people, the kind where they can come to her and know that they will be heard no matter how ludicrous their stories are. It is to show them how much she cares.

It is definitely a huge step from the way Commanders used to behave with the people before Lexa came along and changed it. They were always like this untouchable and unapproachable entities that no one could get close to, could speak to. Many of the Commanders, most of them really, thought of themselves as being superior to others because of their blood and treated the people as their inferiors, as their servants and nothing else. And the result of that was the conditioning of some of the people that were loyal to the Order and their faith into thinking that the kind of treatment they received was okay, was how it was supposed to be, that the Commander was untouchable to the common folk and that they were inferior to them, unworthy of their time, of even one look.

Another result that came from that was the number of enemies the Commander in question would have in their own people, sometimes in their own clan. Some Commanders were really tyrants and such a thing supplied for many discussions Lexa had personally with each of them in the Citadel whenever she went there, which was why when she created the Coalition, she created the vote of no confidence. So that if a Commander would go rogue and become a tyrant again, the Ambassadors would have the means to remove them from power so that the people wouldn’t have to be subjugate to them longer than necessary.

Of course, she never though that they would feel the need to use it on her. That in their eyes she would have warranted such a thing to be done, to be necessary, but now she knew two things: one, that the change she was bringing to the people, to their traditions, to their way of thinking, of doing things was something that many of them were uncomfortable with. But, she also knew that they had to come to understand that growth only comes from an uncomfortable place and that everything she is doing and pushing them to do, it is for a better and peaceful future for their own kids.

And two, Nia is a master at manipulation. After all, that is exactly how she keeps her people believing in her stories about everything that goes around their clan and others as well. She manipulates them for years now, making them think that the other clans are the enemies, that Lexa is the enemy and that only Nia can save and protect them from such monsters and therefore continues to maintain her claim to the throne. So, it didn’t surprise Lexa much that with the right supply of reason that the woman could work her Ambassadors against her so much that they would betray her like that.

She could understand them though. As she had told Clarke that same night when she went to her room and the blonde offered to change her dressings from the wound on her hand, they were doing what they believed was right for their people. She couldn’t really fault any of them because of that since that was exactly what she expected of them, was exactly the reason why she created that law in the first place. However, she knew that now, with the changes she wants to make, she needs to tread it carefully, so it won’t happen again. Clarke is no longer an Ambassador and cannot be the saving vote if they decide to do the same thing.

Lexa was trusting that not giving Nia three months to fill their heads with ideas against her and her rule as Heda, that it would also help her when she presented her case to them and in the end, after that, Lexa guessed all she could do was hope that she could be convincing enough that they will take her word for it and accept her propositions or else things are going to escalate very quickly and she really wants to avoid that as much as she can. One thing she hates doing is forcing a decision onto them, because it makes her feel like a tyrant, and she hoped she wouldn’t have to this time as well.

She was just finishing getting ready when there was a knock on the door. She wasn’t expecting anyone here this early so there was only one person that could be on the other side and that would be Titus. Lexa had been keeping her distance from him because she has yet to determine a course of action when it comes to him. She can’t punish him for something he did in another life in completely different circumstances, but she can’t also ignore what happened either. He tried to kill Clarke and frame the Sky people just so she would go to war with them and ended up killing her instead. It wasn’t so easy to forgive, much less forget.

“ **Come in** ,” She said despite all of that and the door opened to reveal the Flamekeeper as she thought it was. He came inside and closed the door behind him.

“ **Good morning Commander** ,” He said to her bowing his head in respect before he looked back up at her and she nodded at him.

“ **Good morning Titus. What do I owe your visit this early? I was just leaving to start the hearings. Is there something I need to know?** ” She said as she turned to look at him.

“ **No, Commander. There is nothing wrong, in fact the people have already arrived and are waiting for you but that is not the reason why I am here. I was hoping I could ask you if I had done something wrong?** ” He asked her and she frowned.

“ **If you did something wrong? Why would you be asking me that? Why do you think you have done something wrong?** ” She asked him and he sighed.

“ **Ever since you arrived back here in Polis, you have been keeping your distant from me, barely spoke to me outside of the throne room and I was wondering if I had done something wrong or offended you in anyway** ,” He said to her and she took a deep breath.

“ **As far as I know, you have not done anything wrong and the reason I am keeping my distance is because I have much to think about in regard to the future of our people and what is best for them. Now that the threat of the Mountain Men which the reason for the Coalition to happen in the first place is gone, I need to think of a way to make sure that no clans withdraws from it, that is continues on as it has been until now** ,” She explained to him and he nodded.

“ **And why have you not talked to me about any of these plans you seem to be formulating in your head? I am your advisor. Shouldn’t I know what you plan on doing about those subjects?** ” He said to her and she looked at him thinking of the best way to say this.

“ **Yes, you are my advisor, Titus and a very good one at that and the moment I feel I need an advice, I will ask you of your opinion on whatever it is I have doubts about. But you are right, I should at least tell you what my plan is** ,” She said to him before she continued.

“ **My plan is simple. I want the Sky People and the remaining survivors of the Mountain to join my Coalition and become the 13 th and 14th clans**,” She said to him and to say he was shocked was an understatement. He was beyond that but seemed to recover fast before he spoke.

“ **Commander, I don’t believe that is wise. The Sky People and especially the Mountain Men cannot be trusted, they cannot be one of us, one of our people. They are not worthy of a seat on your table** ,” He said to her and she just shook her head at him.

“ **Yes, they can. Yes, they will and yes, they are, Titus. Besides it is better to have them work with us instead of against us, don’t you think? Because simply exterminating them without a reason is not the way I do things and you know it. The survivors of the Mountain are good people who helped us win the battle, they are innocent and I will not just kill them and the Sky People are our allies and have knowledge of things that we don’t. What I want will be very advantageous for all of us and I will make the Ambassadors see that** ,” She said to him with finality in her voice.

“ **Commander** …,” he started to say but she raised her hand and interrupted him before he could continue what he wanted to say to her.

“ **This is not up for discussion, Titus. The decision is made and there is nothing to be done about it. It is what is best for our people and it will be done. Now, it is time to go, the people are waiting. Are you coming or not?** ” She said to him and he nodded.

With that she walked past him and opened the door leaving the room and greeting the guards standing outside, Gustus was also there as he was every single day. The three of them entered the lift and she could sense the tension between the other two. Gustus never liked Titus, in fact none of her close friends and family ever liked the man. Not her Aunt Nadia, not Gustus, not Alanon, not Anya, not Tori, not Indra, not Amir, not Costia, not Lincoln, not her father, not her siblings and most definitely, not Clarke. Now, she knew they all had reason not to.

When the doors of the lift opened again, she walked out with the two men following close behind her, one being there to protect and the other being there to try and control her. What a difference. The guards by the doors already opened them for her and when she got in, the nightbloods were already there. Much like Judging Day, she liked for them to be there during these meetings so they could see in the day to day work what it meant to be Heda. It was more than simply leading an army in battle, but also taking charge of dealing with the problems of the people day after day.

They were all sitting down on the floor but once they saw her come in, all nightbloods stood up and bowed as she made her way to her throne, with Titus on one side, Gustus on the other. Indra had returned to TonDC the day before since she is the chief of the clan and with one nod from Lexa, the guards at the door opened it and the first person came in. It was a man who looked like a merchant came and bowed before her and started to talk to her about his complaints over the laziness of his employee who came with him and try to defend himself.

This kind of complaints were brought to her attention quite often since the employers seemed to think that hearing it straight from the Commander that they were wrong and needed to change will make the employees take the job more seriously and in almost all the cases they do but after a while, it gets really boring so in matters such as these, she lets the nightbloods decided what to do and in this particular case, it was Aden who handled it wonderfully making her very proud of him and soon the next one came along and that was how she spent her day.

The complaints were quite many given how long she had been away and all of that, so it was almost evening by the time that she was able to call it a day. Once it was over, she dismissed all of the nightblood congratulating them on their performances today and reminding them again how important it is to know how to deal with the people, sometimes even more than to know how to kill people and they nodded, keeping that in mind as usual. Titus went along with them and she even dismissed Gustus who warned her he would be waiting outside to escort her back and safely to her room. She nodded giving him a small smile. She appreciated his concern for her greatly.

Once completely alone in the room, Lexa stood up from her throne and walked around it, going all the way to the balcony and leaning her hands against the broken railing as she looked at the amazing view she had in the moment, the sun was setting and the sky was being painted in shades of yellow and orange and it looked absolutely beautiful. She couldn’t help but think of how much she wished that Clarke was here enjoying this view with her or that she was with the girl she loved wherever she is. That they didn’t have to be this long apart even if it has been only a couple of days.

And her thoughts on that seemed to take her somewhere so far, probably exactly where the blonde was, that she almost didn’t hear the sound of steps approaching her which in her case is dangerous given how many people tried to kill her over the years. But, luckily for Lexa, she knew who the footsteps belonged to and they were no threat to her life, so she immediately relaxed her stance before she had the person come and join her at her side also looking at the view. She didn’t have to turn to look at the person, their knowledge of each other was so great they knew exactly what the other was thinking about and the intruder called her out upon it.

“ **Thinking about the Sky Girl, aren’t you?** ” Anya said teasing her and Lexa chuckled before lowering her head, shaking it as the warrior gave a small smirk.

“ **Just because you know what is going on between us doesn’t mean you have the right to tease me about it** ,” Lexa said as she turned to look at the woman.

“ **That is exactly what gives me the right to tease you senseless if I want to. Even because when I got together with Tori, if I remember correctly and I am positively sure I do, you made sure to tease me until I have dreamt of the many ways I could choke you to death and two, it’s been a long time since I have seen you like this, so happy, so in love so I have a lot of catching up to do. So just deal with it** ,” Anya spoke jokingly, and Lexa chuckled nodding her head.

“ **You’re right. It’s fair enough but be sure to know we’re alone before you do it. You know how that news can blow back in our faces if it comes out wrongly and especially if Titus were to find out before it’s time** ,” Lexa told her. Anya nodded understanding her request and the importance of it as she turned around, putting her back against the railing.

“ **Are you sure that you want to go through with your plan of being with the Sky Girl? Of making her your** _Kwin_ **one day?** ” Anya asked her in all seriousness and Lexa had no choice but to look at her with question on the tip of her tongue.

“ **How do you know what my plan is? I haven’t told anyone, not even Clarke. Much less Titus or anyone else for the matter** ,” Lexa asked her former mentor and the older warrior nodded her head at that last information.

“ **And you did good on that front. The later he learns about it, the lesser he can interfere in it and as for how I know your plan, I know you Lexa. It didn’t take me that long to figure it out that it is the only course of action you can’t take if you want to make your relationship official in the eye of the Coalition and our people. They would never recognize her as your equal if you didn’t give her that title precisely** ,” Anya spoke as she looked at the younger girl and sighed, “ **I take it Clarke doesn’t know about it or what receiving that title will mean for her?** ”

“ **Not yet but I will tell her when the time is right. For now, there is no need for anyone to know about it. Clarke and I are meant to be together, Anya. And I won’t let anyone** , _anyone_ **stand in our way** ,” Lexa said firmly and Anya could see how determinate about that the brunette was. And as the two of them stayed in silence, simply looking over the view, Anya thought that with everything the young couple had ahead of them, that they would really need all the help they could get so she vowed to herself not to fail Lexa again like she did with Costia. She would make sure her former second got her chance at her happy ending, no matter what.


	58. Execution of the Plan

Despite everything that she had learned about while talking with Kane and her friends about the plans the Council seemed to have for how to deal with the grounders, Clarke had a very good night of sleep. Once again, Charlotte came to sleep with her and the two sisters spent a good part of the night talking about things, about boys, girls and about what is going to happen which along with the training day Clarke had earlier helped for her to get mildly unconscious when it came time to sleep, that way she was not visited by any of her usual nightmares and much less new ones. This night, she had a little bit of peace and for that she was immensely thankful to whoever was responsible for it.

But once she woke up, she knew that this day would be a defining day when it came to the future of their people as well as for her future as well. This day is the exact same day in which her people will seal their fate and their future one way or another and to say she was beyond apprehensive would be the understatement of the century. There was no way that she could lose this. Not like they lost last time when everything went to hell because of it. No, she needed to do this right to guarantee that things would go the way she needs them to, for everyone’s sake and not just hers.

Today would be Election Day.

Clarke has not told her other friends that today is the day she plans to challenge Jaha for the right of the people to elect a new Chancellor, elect Kane to be precise. It didn’t miss her that the last time something like this happened, Pike came in along with Bellamy’s support and took the position that should have been Kane’s and the things he did after that is one of the many reasons why Clarke cannot avoid this any longer. It has to be done as soon as possible to make sure that by the time he comes back here because he will, she is positive he is alive in the Azgeda territory, that Pike will not be able to undermine the importance of the grounders or that Jaha will take that mantle for himself.

Which is one of the reasons why when Lexa told her that she had sent a team to retrieve the people of Farm Station from the Ice Nation, Clarke, after some thought, asked her to stop the search. She knew that by doing that, she was sentencing many of her people to die but she also knew that some of them would survive, Pike among them and that they would be found one way or another, life would take care of it but it would be more beneficial for them to establish a good and prosperous relationship between their people before reintegrating Farm Station, that way they would have no voice against the grounder, seeing as the rest of the Skaikru has already been accepted as part of Lexa’s people, therefore also grounders.

Lexa had understood the strategy on that and had told her she had wondered if that wasn’t the best course of action even before the blonde told her about it and Clarke was once again shown how well they worked and were together, how well they knew and understood each other. Which remembering now only makes her miss the brunette girl even more, but she needs to focus on her job and today that job is to do one thing and one thing only. Get Kane elected Chancellor. No, today would be a success and she won’t have it any other way.

“Charlie, come on. It’s time to wake up sis,” Clarke said as she slightly shook the smaller blonde who was snuggled on the covers as she threw hers off and sat down on the bed, stretching herself a little.

“Five more minutes, Mom,” Was the mumbled reply she got from the mess of blonde hair she was looking at and Clarke couldn’t help but chuckle before she gave the girl one big slap on the butt which made Charlotte jump in bed.

“Are you crazy? Why the hell did you do that for Clarke?” The younger girl said whining and Clarke smiled before she pulled the covers from the girl and stood up.

“We have to get up, it is already late and we have to make our daily exercises. Wasn’t it you the one who begged me to let you do it with me? Well, we’re doing it so get up,” Clarke said smirking and the girl grunted in the pillow before she also stood up.

“Fine, I’m up but don’t think that I won’t find a way to repay you for the slap. Just you wait, when you least think it will happen, I will be there and you won’t be able to escape me,” Charlotte said as she faced Clarke who could only chuckle.

“Well, I will look forward to it, little sis. Meanwhile we wait for you to cook up your master plan of revenge, let’s begin. Come on,” Clarke said smiling and the two sisters started on their morning routine of exercises.

Once they were done with it, Charlotte went back to her room to take a shower and change her clothes as did Clarke, which took about half an hour for both girls. Then, they met up to go to the dining hall together. Soon enough, they spotted their friends sitting down in what has become their table and after getting their food, both Griffins sat down with them to have their breakfast. There was Bellamy, Finn, Raven, Murphy, Harper, Monty, Wells and Jessica. Clarke sat down between Raven and Murphy as Charlotte down in between Monty and Wells.

“So, girls, anything important to do today?” Bellamy asked them and Clarke nodded as did Charlotte who started speaking.

“Yes, Mom has a surgery scheduled and she said that if I behave, she will let me there and help her do finish it up which is amazing. I can’t wait,” Charlotte said excitedly, and they nodded.

“It is amazing, Braids and I am sure you are more than capable of handling it. I mean, you and her Highness over there were able to save Peacemaker here when Captain McBroody’s brother-in-law stabbed him so you’ll nail this,” Murphy joked about it while everyone shook their heads at him.

“Really John? This early in the morning? Can you at least let me have finish having my breakfast before you start annoying the hell out of all of us with those stupid nicknames?” Raven said scowling at him while he simply smirked at her.

“And the answer is a swift now. I cannot. And admit it, your lives would be boring without my impeccable sense of humor,” He spoke to them and the group scoffed.

“What about you Clarke? Doing something important today?” Jessica asked her and the blonde took a deep breath before nodding her head.

“Yes, I am actually. And it is probably one of the most important things I have done for our people so far since the day we’ve landed on Earth. So, this chatting is really helping me with the nerves,” She told them, and everyone turned serious as they stared at her.

“What are you going to do?” Wells asked her and she looked at him and at everyone in the table and knew that she could count on all of them to support her and her decision. Besides it is not like they won’t know what it is in a couple of hours anyway.

“I am going to call for a new election for Chancellor to get your dad out of the position, Wells,” Clarke said and looked at him and while everyone else around was worried about what his reaction would be to that, Clarke already knew it. She knew him since diapers, she wasn’t his best friend for nothing. She had nothing to worry about.

“What can we do to help you?” Was all he said to her and she smiled as she reached out her hand to him and they high fived each other with big matching smile on their faces. They both knew each other too well.

“Wells, you’re not a little angry with what she is planning to do?” Harper asked although she was really hoping Clarke was able to do it. No one of the remaining 100 liked Jaha anyway. They learn to accept Wells as one of their own despite their past prejudice towards him because he was the Chancellor’s son, but his dad is a different opera altogether.

“No, not at all. In fact, I was one of the first people who told Clarke that taking my father down from the position of Chancellor was probably the best option for our people right now. His greed and his ambitions as well as the fact that he is being so narrow-minded can help to bring us all down or worse, kill us all and we cannot let that happen. I cannot let that happen so yes, I’m 100%in favor of this,” Wells explained as Clarke nodded her head in agreement.

“Exactly and we need to change that as fast as possible. I have worked a plan for the future of our people down here with the Commander in a way that will allow us to flourish that will not work if Jaha is in charge even if only in name. So, I am going to change that today and I need all of your help to pull this off the way I want it to,” Clarke said to them and they nodded.

“What do you need us for?” Finn asked and Clarke looked at him before she started explaining her plan to them and what they could do to help.

“Raven and Monty, I need you to hook me up with a microphone, loud enough so that everyone outside, which is where I will make my speech, will be able to hear me,” The two nerds nodded and looked at each other, already having ideas on how to do that.

“Jessica and Harper, I need you guys to gather everyone outside. Every single person needs to be there for this since we will need every single one of their votes if we wish to win this thing,” She explained and the two girls nodded, excited to help.

“Bellamy, Murphy and Finn, you will be my protection. The moment I start talking not only Jaha but the rest of his Council, save my parents obviously, will want to shut me down and will probably try to get the guards to stop me even by using brute force, and you will be responsible for not letting that happen,” She said to them.

“Don’t worry Blondie. Not one is coming anywhere near you as long as I have a say on it. I got your back, like always,” Murphy said to her and Clarke smiled at him.

“I don’t doubt that for a second, Jerkface,” She told him truthfully since she indeed trusted him more than he probably knew. He smirked before she moved to talk to Wells and Charlotte.

“Charlotte, you will be responsible for warning Mom, Dad and Kane and tell Kane it’s happening. He will know what it means. And you Wells, you will need to reign in your Dad and keep an eye on him until the election is over. I don’t trust him not to try anything to stop me himself,” She explained to them and they both nodded.

“Don’t worry. My Dad will not do or even try anything against you and what you are doing. I won’t let him, I promise,” He told her as she nodded to him.

“I know. I trust you. Now, we have to go. It will be a tough day ahead for all of us,” She said to them and they each went to do what she instructed them too. Raven and Monty along with Wick, who they grabbed on the way and got him up to date with what was going on to which he promptly agreed to help, and they started preparing their part of the plan while also making a make shift stage so that Clarke could be seen by everyone as well.

Bellamy, Finn and Murphy got Miller to join in the fun and together, the four of them, thanks to the pass that Murphy had, armed themselves with rifles and guns, although Finn’s had no bullets in, his Peacemaker personality make an appearance yet again. Luckily Murphy already expected it and had it ready for him. The appearance of the weapons he was holding would be enough to provoke fear and in which case, if someone tried anything, Murphy would be more the happy to do the dirty work so their part was covered.

After a few hours, when it was getting close to lunch break, everyone had everything ready by the time Clarke stepped out of the Station and in front of all of their people who had confused looks on their faces. The boys were making a protective barrier in front of her as her friends walked alongside with her except Wells who she noticed was with his father far away from her and Charlotte who was with their parents. Coming to the place the nerd group had prepared for her, Clarke stepped on it and grabbed the microphone Raven passed it to her and took a deep breath before she started speaking.

“Hello. For those of you who may not know me yet, which given everything is something hard to believe, I’m Clarke Griffin, the leader of the 100. And you must be asking yourselves, what the hell is going here? Why were we called to stand here outside? Why is she talking to us? I promise those questions will be answered shortly, starting by why I am speaking to you. It’s because I simply cannot to when I see that the path we are coming close to follow will lead only to our destruction,” She said and the murmuring started between the people.

“When the 100 of us was sent down to Earth, we had no idea if it was survivable, if radiation levels weren’t so high that we would be killed the moment we opened the door. Or if the levels were low enough that it would take days for the contamination to kick in and for us to die slowly. And even when none of that happened, we were faced with an even bigger surprise, one we definitely never imagined, which was the existence of a civilization here which we came to call the grounders,” She said as people were silent listening to her.

“Our first contact with them was terrifying. One of us was shot with a spear after he crossed a river to get to Mount Weather and although it made us believe the worst of the grounders, today, knowing what we know about the Mountain Men, we can’t really blame them for being scared we were just like those people or blame them for trying to stop us from getting their attention, can we?” She asked and saw many heads shake and that gave her a good feeling that this time, people would see reason without blood being shed by anyone on any side.

“At first, some of us wanted to kill the grounders because of the threat that they posed to us, simply eliminate them but how could we think to do something like that when we were the ones invading their homes, their forests, claiming lands that most definitely do not belong to us? They see us as a threat and with reason so, how can we fault them for trying to protect themselves? If another ship had crashed on the Ark and destroyed part of it and claimed another part for themselves, would we be happy about it?” She asked and the shook their heads and some spoke out loud no.

“Exactly and neither did them. Me and a few others tried a different approach, an honest one. Tell them the situation and try to find a solution with the least number of casualties on both sides but the impulsive nature of some people on our side led to an attack on the meeting, ruining any chance we had at a deal with them. So, we had no choice but to go to war with them but the Mountain, if nothing good came out of it, I say this did. It brought us all together. It made us work together, it let us get to know each other a little bit better and after close inspections, they are not so bad, don’t you think?” She asked them and once again they agreed with her which made her smile before she turned serious again.

“Which is exactly why I am here doing this today. I am deeply concerned that our relationship with the grounders, one that is being and has been built since we struck the deal with them to work together may be in jeopardy and if it is, then we could be looking at no longer facing a group of warriors from a clan but instead we would be facing the Army of the 12 clans unnecessarily and I tell you, we would be wiped out,” She said and the people started to freak out a little so she continued getting their attention.

“But I don’t want that and the Commander doesn’t want that either! We have the same goal here which is to strengthen more and more our relationship with them, be at peace, share knowledge with them and have them share knowledge with us. A goal to accomplish a union between the two people, not war. A goal to accomplish brotherhood. A goal I am afraid is not shared by our Chancellor and most of the members in his Council,” She said and now was the time for the strike as she saw Jaha’s face as he seemed to understand what she was doing and saw him try to move forward before Wells stopped him.

“Chancellor Jaha has been acting like a child since the beginning. When we fell off here with no one to help us, I started working to make our lives better and safer and that made me earn the trust and respect of those who would become my friends making them entitle me their leader. And once you came down here, I have continued to do that and I guess I can say that I earned your trust and respect as such, have I not?” She asked them and they all agreed that she had and so she continued.

“Chancellor Jaha has hated that fact since the moment we made contact with the Ark, he has been trying to undermine me and my decisions which are made with your best interests at heart because he cannot handle the thought that a 17 year old girl can do a better job at this than him. He has been trying constantly to reestablish himself as the one in charge, but it is not a title that makes you a leader, what makes a leader are your actions.”

“I am afraid that Jaha’s actions shows his selfishness and childishness and that he may steer us down a path in which we would see ourselves in a unnecessary war against the grounders and I don’t want that and I hope sincerely that neither does you, which is why I am here in front of you to call for an election for the role of Chancellor,” Clarke said and the people looked shocked at her as she stared at them and more than that as she stared at the very angry face of Thelonious Jaha but she couldn’t back down now She wouldn’t. She’s going through with it.


	59. Deciding Fate

Jaha couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He knew that Clarke having so much power amongst the people could be potentially dangerous fir him, but he could never have thought that she would try to pull a stunt like this, call for an election to depose him as Chancellor, this was outrageous. He tried to move forward to go to her and to stop her from pushing it forward, but felt himself being held back with quite the strength and when he looked at who was holding him, he saw his son, Wells and as he looked at his son’s face, he understood it all.

“You knew about this, didn’t you? You are a part of this?” Jaha asked his son as Wells came to stand in front of his father with a confidence he didn’t know he would feel until now.

“Yes, in fact, it was partially my idea. Clarke is just executing it since I knew she could do it better than anyone else,” Wells explained to his father who looked betrayed.

“How could you do this to me? Why would you do this to your own father?” Thelonious asked him and Wells sighed before he spoke.

“Because whether you want to admit it or not, we both know that you are not the best option we have for a Chancellor here on Earth, Dad. Maybe you were up there on the Ark, maybe you had the guts to do all of those things you did claiming it was for the survival of our people but down here, things are different. The same rules don’t apply and ever since you fell down here the only thing you did was try to enter a power struggle with Clarke. Why wouldn’t I help Clarke do this is the real question Dad,” Wells said to him.

“I am your father, you were supposed to have my back like I always had yours,” Thelonious said to him, extremely disappointed, and Wells scoffed.

“You didn’t have my back since the day Mom died. Do you know who did have it then? Clarke. She was there always, she held me when I cried, listened when I would remember something Mom used to do, let me vent whenever you did something I disagreed. She always had my back and I will always have hers. But this is not about that Dad. This is about you not being a good enough Chancellor and it is time the people chose a new one,” Wells said to him.

“You know what? This has gone on long enough. I let you children go too far, let you do what you wanted and I am done. I am going to stop this right now,” Thelonious tried to move again but Wells stopped him once again.

“You are not going to get anywhere near her. For that, you are going to have to go through me first,” Wells said as he stared down at his father’s eyes, ready to do his part in this. There was no way he was going to let his Dad hurt Clarke or stop her. This was happening, if he had anything to say about it. Meanwhile, at another part, the Griffin’s along with the Kane’s were watching everything happening and they were quite shocked.

“Did you know she was planning on doing something like this?” Abby asked Jake who only shook his head as he watched his daughter tear apart the man he once called his best friend.

“No. I had absolutely no idea she would do this. She didn’t say anything to me about it,” Jake answered his wife as they continued to watch.

“But I have to say that given everything, she is entirely wrong here. Jaha has not been acting like a good Chancellor for a while now and not only since we came down but when we were up there as well,” Callie said to her friends who looked at her as she continued her speech, “Maybe this is completely something out of the blue, something no one of us expected from her or from anyone else but no one of us can’t say that what she is saying is not true. She is not lying at all and I for one, agree that he is not the best choice for us.”

“We are not saying she is lying because I agree that she is not but a heads up would be deeply appreciated before she pulled a stunt like this on everyone,” Abby said out loud.

“And since when does Clarke work with heads up Mom?” Charlotte said as she looked up at her parents who looked down at her before all four adults chuckled at how true what the young girl said was. Clarke did things, she didn’t ask for permission to do them. Kane on the other hand, stayed quiet since he had known, just not that she would do today, and he hoped that the plan they came up with worked. They couldn’t afford for it not to.

Back with Clarke, the four boys were making the security and so far, no one has tried anything which was good for them and for Clarke. This could get ugly real fast if someone did something stupid and that was not what she needed so Murphy was coordinating the whole thing to make sure that no matter what happened, Clarke would be protected. After all, she is the one he is concerned about, never been much one to feel the love for the people as she does.

Raven and Monty were watching it with the girls, Jessica and Harper and even if they didn’t know about this before, even they would have been swayed by the things Clarke were saying. She really was born for stuff like this, just like Raven was born to work with mechanics, which is one of the reasons why she would think that Clarke and Lexa were just so made for each other and this life that they would be living now. They were naturally born leaders and very good ones at that and together they were a force to be reckoned with. She really hoped everything would work out for those two and everyone else in the end.

Back with Clarke, she could see that the people were thinking hard about the things she had just said to them so, she wasted no time before she continued with her speech, now coming to the hardest part which was to get them to vote for Kane and him alone. She didn’t know if she could do it, but as the doubt came, she reached out and held onto the necklace of Lexa she had and drew strength from it before she held up the mic again and started talking to the people. It was now or never.

“I am calling for an election because I strongly believe that a new dawn is in the horizon for our people. In the Ark, we had rules implemented for our survival, for what we thought was the survival of the human race, such as the rule of having one child only but the human race was already surviving and on Earth, there are no needs for a rule like that one and that only shows us that things down here will and should be different than up and you know why? Because the only fate that rests in our hands from this moment forward is our own,”

“And I think, I know that we need someone in charge who knows, understands and agrees with that. Someone that doesn’t see change as something bad but as something constructive. Someone who knows that a peaceful way is always better than one filed with war and death. Someone that understands the need for a good relationship with the grounders. Who understands that the only way for us to do more than just survive is to adapt to life down here. Someone who knows us and who wants to know them. Who wants to take us forward, not backwards. Someone that we can trust that wants only what is best for us and not themselves. Someone who is not scared or prejudiced to work with a 17-year-old girl if they think she knows what she is doing,” She said to them as she took a deep breath to continue.

“I know many of you are thinking that I am calling for this election to launch myself for this position but I am not. I am not here asking for you to vote for me to be the Chancellor because I don’t think I am cut out for that position,” Clarke said to them and she could see the shock in everyone’s faces. “I was able to lead you in this war but I am still learning how to lead in peace and even if I thought I could do it, I still wouldn’t because many of the things I’ve done for all of you was because I was taught by someone who I do believe is the best Chancellor we could ever ask for. He is a man who is loyal, fierce when need be, peaceful, who understands the in and out of the job, who knows our people better than we know ourselves, who has a beautiful heart and someone I am proud to call a mentor, a friend but more than that, family. And this person is no one other than our Chief of Security and Council member, Marcus Kane.”

Everyone was shocked and turned to search for the man and once they found him, all eyes were on him, including that of his wife, his mother and Clarke’s parents who all seemed to be in shock. Kane remembered Clarke’s instructions to seem shocked about all of this since he wasn’t supposed to know her plan, so he tried his best to seem as surprised as everyone else. Clarke had said that at least until after the election. After he won and was sworn into office, he could come clean to his family about knowing beforehand about her plans and since he trusted her judgment, he was doing exactly what she asked and would continue to do it.

“I know I am dropping a bomb onto you Kane and I am sorry, but I couldn’t not do this. You are a terrific leader and I know because you helped me be one as well. When I would lose sight of what needs to be done and how it needed to be done, you were there to help back onto my path, you helped me and the 100 from the moment communications were opened between us. You helped save 300 people from the culling, you helped save the Ark when Diana Sydney wanted to blow it up, you helped booker a deal with the Grounders that guaranteed the rescue of those of us who were inside the Mountain,”

“You helped built this place from scratch to what it is now and I know that you have so many more ideas on how to make this place even better. Did you all know that Kane already has ideas on how to start a small farm out here? That he has ideas on how to make our security better? To create a watch tower for us? He is also one of the few people in the Council who supported me from the beginning who was always there to support my ideas on how to save my friends. He is one of the few people who understands the importance of our relationship with the grounders can be for our future. He is one of the few people who wants us to do more than just survive. He wants us to live in harmony and friendship.”

“By the Exodus Chart, Law 103, as someone over 18 years of age, I enact my right to call for an election and by the law 104, I publicly remove myself from being a candidate but I do give my entire support as well as my vote for Marcus Kane and I only hope that the same way you all trusted me to bring back your children from the crutches of Mount Weather, that you will trust me when I say that you desperately need Kane as your Chancellor, now more than ever and I ask that you vote for him. That is all I wanted to say, thank you for listening,” She finished her speech and stepped down from the stage.

Raven quickly made her way to the where Clarke and the boys were and stepped on the little stage they had made, grabbed the mic and spoke to the people. “The candidates we already have are Marcus Kane and Thelonious Jaha. Does anyone else want to enter the pool of candidates? Please, raise your hand,” She instructed and fortunately, no one raised theirs so she continued with explaining how thing would be done.

“Well, since no one else wants to join the race, the candidates will only be the two previously mentioned. Marcus Kane and Thelonious Jaha, please step forward to give your speech and ask for the vote of the people,” Raven said and finally Wells, released his father who started walking forward quite quickly. Marcus, on the other hand, turned to his wife and smiled at her.

“You got this. I believe in you, we both do,” She said to him as she held his hand over her belly bump and he nodded before kissing and hugging her, before doing the same to his mother, who also wished him luck. And after that, he finally made his way towards the stage.

“Now, as current Chancellor, Jaha will have the first turn. Mic is yours,” Raven said passing the microphone to him before she stepped down to join Clarke’s side and spoke of her doubts to the blonde. “Are you sure this is a good idea? What if he sways them to his side?”

“He won’t and I trust Kane. If there is one thing he is good at, it’s inspiring people. He can do this. All Jaha will do is make sure the people don’t vote for him,” Clarke said confidently and raven, deciding to trust her best friend, kept quiet and tried to listen to the man’s speech.

And once again, Raven had to bow down to Clarke’s intelligence. She had been completely right. Jaha’s speech revolved around undermining the blonde, what she had done, basically call her an agitator, inexperienced and try to elevate his own doings. The further he talked, the more he made sure that even without Kane speaking a word, that the people would vote for him. But still when raven called his time, he passed the mic to Kane who took it before taking a deep breath and releasing as he started to speak.

“Well, it was definitely as surprise to see an election being called for and an even better surprise to see Clarke’s kind word of support and belief in me to take this position, for which I would like to thank her. I’m not sure I am all that she said but after everything she did for us, who am I to disagree?” He said and she gave him a small smile, one he returned before he looked to the people and continued with his speech.

“for years now, I have been part of the Council as Chief od Security and for the best part of those years, I closed myself off and became a cold, detached guy. Many of you may remember how I used to be but about a year ago, I had the pleasure to become friends with a 16-yea-rold girl who helped me see the errors of my way, the error of our way and I have ever since tried to become a better man, not only to my people but to my friends, to my mother and most importantly, to my wife whom I love very much.”

“And in changing like that, I was able to see how hard our lives were in the Ark. Surely, some laws, as barbaric as they were, were needed for our survival but the minute we send the 100 down here and we were able to know that the ground was survivable, those laws lost all of their need. And since coming down here, I have realized that we are in desperate need of a change. Not only of our laws, but of our ways of thinking as well. We need to realize that life here is completely different than life was up there and that it is okay.”

“That in here, we can be better than we ever could up there. We can see that the grounders are not and should not be our enemies but instead, should be our friends. They have knowledge of things we can’t even begin to imagine and the other way around as well. Can you imagine how much we could contribute to each other’s lives by working together instead of working against each other? That is what I want. I don’t just want us to survive, I want us to deserve a chance to live and I feel that as your Chancellor, I am ready to do that for you.”

“I have a child on the way and I think to myself, what kind of world am I working to bring my child into? Is it a world where we have peace or is it one where we jump from war to war without having the need for that? And I don’t know about any of you, but it isn’t even a choice for me. The world I will fight for you to live in is the world I want my child to be a part of. All I ask is that you trust me on this journey towards the best future we can possibly have and that working together, we will make it happen. Thank you,” He finished his speech and the applause he received was deafening.

Clarke turned to look at Raven and mouthed ‘What did I tell you?’ The brunette mechanic simply chuckled at her as they continued to clap for him before Raven rose to the stage and took the mic from Kane and spoke, “Now, that the candidates made their speeches, we will proceed with voting. In the dining hall, you will be able to right down your vote on who you want to become Chancellor. Myself and a randomly selected person will checking the votes and once it is done, we will announce who is the winner. Please proceed in a line towards the dining hall right this way,” Raven said as she instructed the people.

In the dining hall, Wick and a few other adults were already waiting for the people to start coming and one by one, they wrote down their vote and put in the urn they had separated for this. Clarke and their friends voted as well, Bellamy voting twice because of Octavia since even though, she was with the Trikru now, she was still a member of their people. Once her family was done, Clarke went to join them and was bombarded with questions especially from her mother who wanted to know why she didn’t tell them about this before.

“Because I wasn’t sure I was going to do it until I woke up today and knew it was time to do something about it. Jaha is not good for us, Mom and you know that. Kane is. I would have indicated Dad, but I know you never wanted to be Chancellor and most likely hadn’t changed your mind about it,” Clarke said to them, looking at her father and he nodded firmly.

“I am glad that of all people you could have chosen, Kane was the one. I think he will be a great Chancellor, but next time you want to pull the type of thing, let us know before hand, okay sweetie? We could have a heart attack at our age,” Abby said to her and Clarke chuckled.

“Speak for yourself Abby. I am in no way pulling the age card even because we are not old, at least I am not,” Jake said jokingly, and all three women chuckled at that.

“Don’t worry Mom. I will try my best to keep you guys caught up next time, but I also need you to understand that there are things I cannot talk to you about it yet but the ones I can, I do. So just trust me, I know what I am doing,” Clarke said to her parents who nodded.

“And apparently what you are doing means making me first lady,” Callie said as she joined them along with Kane. Clarke hugged her Aunt chuckling.

“Well, I for one, thinks the title will look good on you,” Clarke said as she pulled back from the hug and Callie chuckled at her before the blonde moved to hug Kane.

“You got this. There is no way in hell you are going to lose, not this time,” She whispered to him alone and he nodded before they let go.

“Well, we will see what is going to happen now. They are already counting down the votes and from what I was told in the process of finishing the last few ones,” Kane explained to them.

“Do you think you are ready for the job my daughter just dropped on you?” Jake asked his friend and Kane chuckled at that before shrugging.

“I don’t know if I am ready, but I do know that Clarke wouldn’t have chosen me if she didn’t think I can do this and after everything, I guess I am inclined to trust her judgment,” He said and they all nodded before they heard and Raven’s voice as she spoke on the microphone, her voice carrying on so, that everyone would hear it.

“The counting of votes is finished. The election has its winner. And with a margin of more than 300 votes, the new Chancellor of Arkadia is Marcus Kane. Now, come to the front of take your rightful pin, Mr. Chancellor. Sir,” Raven said smiling and everyone clapped their hands.

Kane hugged everyone, taking longer with Callie before he went up and Raven placed the Chancellor pin on his jacket. He was then sworn in and the people celebrated, Clarke more than anyone. Her plan had worked. She got Kane elected and way before Pike ever came along. Things were definitely looking good for them now. All she was missing now was Lexa, but she knew that soon enough, they would be reunited and right now, it was all she cared about.


	60. Appearances and Politics

When Lexa woke up, she knew that the time had come for her to execute her plan to incorporate both the Sky People and the remaining of the Mountain Men into her Coalition. She knew deep down that she didn’t need her Ambassadors approval for it, she had proven that when she suddenly changed the summit to be an initiation for the Sky People and as Commander she is entitled to do what she wants but she also knows that not having the support of the Ambassadors could be detrimental to what she wants to happen.

If she simply decided to do this, not caring about what they think, she is raising the risk that a feeling of distrust will rise between not only between the older clans as the new ones, but also between her and her Ambassadors. Which could be the opening Nia may be waiting for to try and poison them against her, to try for a vote of no confidence again and she doesn’t want that to happen which is why she is try for a different approach this time around. One that will make the Ambassadors feel like they have a voice in the matter when in reality, the choice has already been made by her and she is simply warning them in advance.

But first before she does that, she wants to know her trusted advisors’ position on this matter, so after waking up, getting dressed and ready for the day, she decided that this was best done in her private office. When you followed the spiral stairs besides her throne and all the way up, there was a door that led to a spacious room that had been used by previous commander for many things, intimate encounters as well, but Lexa made into her private office. It was very secure given that it had a lock system only she had the code to since it came from the Flame.

It was a quite big room, it had a big table by the window, bookshelves and where also resided many of the maps and documents that was entitled to Lexa’s eyes only, as she was the Commander. Once she sat down on her chair, Lexa started looking at some maps regarding the two new clans she was planning on creating and which lands could they get, what trade routes could work for the Coalition and all of that. She had been revising that for a few minutes before she heard the knock on the door and looked up from her work answering it.

“ **Come in** ,” She called out and the door opened to reveal Gustus and Anya. She motioned for them both to enter and to sit down in the two chairs in front of her and the two trusted guards did exactly as she asked. She closed a few of the maps before she looked up and started speaking to the two of them as they watched her.

“ **I have called the two of you here because there is something I need to discuss with you, more like want your input on the situation even though I have already made my decision about it** ,” She said to them and they looked at each other before looking back at her.

“ **What situation is it Commander?** ” Anya asked her and Lexa took a deep breath as she leaned back against her chair which was way more comfortable than her throne.

“ **I am planning on making the Sky People and The Mountain Men the 13 th and 14th clans of the Coalition and I want to know what you think about it**,” She said to them and to say they were surprised was an understatement.

Anya had known that Lexa wanted the Sky People to join, if for nothing else than simply because of the nature of her relationship with the Sky Girl that was their leader, but she had no idea that her former second also wanted the Mountain Men to join them as part of their people, as part of the Coalition and well for Gustus, both things were a complete surprise and he wasn’t sure how to respond to any of it so Anya went first, given that she recovered from the shock much faster than him.

“ **I think that the Sky People have proven to be worthy allies and I think our people would benefit from having them be a part of us but the Mountain Men, Lexa. After everything that they did to us, I think you are pushing it,** ” Anya said shaking her head as Lexa nodded hers.

“ **Gustus, what do you think about both people joining us?** ” Lexa asked him and he finally looked up at her, she could see the frown on his face.

“ **Why get them to join us at all? Yes, the Sky people helped but they are invaders and the Mountain Men are still a threat to us, even if their leaders are dead** ,” Gustus said to her and she nodded at his answer as well.

“ **I know of what you just said. But I also know that our people need them. Do you think we would have found a way to disable the acid fog if Bellamy hadn’t infiltrated and Raven coordinated with him to do it? No, because if we could, we would have. The only way to get rid of them is by declaring war and purposefully, kicking them out of our lands and I see no good reason for that, all I see is prejudice speaking**.”

“ **The Mountain Men don’t have their weapons anymore. I saw to its destruction myself. They are currently defenseless, the only protection is the one I have offered. They pose no threat to us at all, in fact they are quite thankful that we have not killed all of them. Second, the Mountain is not claimed by any clans so technically it is their land and therefore I have no say if they get to leave or not, although for them, I pretended I do. And third, I think that having them join us can be much more beneficial for us than to waste our time and our people’s lives try to kick them out of their own lands** ,” Lexa said to them.

“ **And as for the Sky People, they do have weapons, but weapons that if we want can be with us, not against us which is an important point in and out of itself since I think it is safe to say that all three of us here know that a war with the Ice Nation is coming now that the Mountain has been defeated more than ever and how much would you like to bet that if we scorn them, Nia will go in for the win and get them on her side?** ” She finished explaining her arguments to them.

“ **You think that they could align themselves with her?** ” Anya asked her and Lexa knew that he was talking about her relationship with Clarke.

“ **If they see it as the best option for their people, wouldn’t you?** ” Gustus answered for her and Lexa nodded agreeing with him.

“ **Yes, exactly. Which is why I have to make sure that they cannot be used against us in a war and the best way to do that is by making them one of us, giving them a reason to be thankful and not spiteful, don’t you think that is best?** ” She asked them.

“ **Well, with Nia’s imminent threat, then yes, we could benefit from the joining of both clans and given that the Mountain Men will have to learn how to use our weapons, we could easily overpower them if the need rose** ,” Gustus said out loud and Lexa nodded.

“ **So, it is safe to assume that you have made your decision already?** ” Anya asked her and Lexa gave her a small smile and nodded.

“ **Yes, I have but you know I like to hear your thoughts on some of those decisions. But the real problem right now should be getting the Ambassadors on my side which is the hard part of this decision. They will not like it and some can even try to create dissent, like Oscar** ,” Lexa said.

“ **Oscar is the Azgeda Ambassador. If he didn’t try to create dissent, that would be when I would worry about him. In the meantime, it would be best if you left him as the last one along with Kya, Gage and Melvin** ,” Anya said, expressing her opinion and Lexa nodded.

“ **I know, which is why I want you guys to call Ember, Quentin, Julien, Libby and Sutton, please. I need to talk with them first and thank you for your words of support** ,” Lexa said, thanking them and the two guards nodded at her before they looked at each other.

Both of them stood up from the chairs, understanding the dismissal and bowed their heads at her before they turned around and left the room while Lexa stayed thinking of how to approach the others. Like Anya said she needed to gather the support of her allies first since they were in majority and she could work her way through the neutral clans and try with the enemy ones but either way, she will have what she wants. So, after a few minutes, there was a knock on the door and she ordered them to come in and the Ambassadors she called for came in, two taking the seats in front of her and the other three standing up behind them.

“ **Commander** ,” They all bowed down their heads to her to show their respect and she nodded at them, forgoing the usual protocol. Much more was at stake than formalities.

“ **First of all, I thank you all for coming in such short notice, I understand you might have had other things to deal with today** ,” She said to them and Ember, from the Woods Clan spoke.

“ **Whatever we had to deal with could wait for us to come and see you Commander** ,” She expressed, and Lexa took a good look at the woman. Ember was about 40 something years old but looked much younger, she was brown skinned and with long black hair, done in braids with a tattoo running down her neck on the left side. She was the one who dealt with the Coalition for the Trikru since Lexa created it, so they have been working together for almost ten years.

“ **I think it was safe for all of us to assume that given the fact you were calling all your allies to talk that the matter you wished to discuss was of great importance to the people and might cause for some problem with the others. Would we be correct?** ” Quentin, of the Boat People said and Lexa chuckled at that.

“ **It’s not really fair if you know my moves before I make them, Quentin** ,” She said to the old man. Quentin was around 60 something years old and was also a very wise man who Luna trusts to deal with the Coalition and since her friend handpicked him specifically Lexa ought to get to know him and she understood why Luna would want him near her. She thought that Lexa had some things to learn from him and she had so many things. She spent many hours over the years speaking with him and indeed learned a lot, invaluable lessons she would never forget, and you could say that she became a little bit wiser because of him.

“ **Oh, I don’t know your moves, Commander. I don’t think even someone who would study you for years could know what goes on in that head of yours, which is exactly why you are a great Commander to all of our people** ,” He said to her and she nodded at him.

“ **Thank you for your kind words, Quentin but you were indeed right. The matter I wish to present to the Coalition is of great importance not only to our people but to our future and you all know how seriously I take my oath as Commander which I why I want to discuss with you first. it’s safe to say that we all know how Oscar will be about siding with me, no matter what the subject may be** ,” Lexa spoke and they nodded, agreeing with her.

“ **I would say that now that the Mountain has been defeated more than ever, Ice Nation will think and act boldly. Maybe even try and push your buttons so you will break your own laws Commander which is what Nia has wanted ever since she had no choice but to join the Coalition. Have a reason to declare war on you,** ” Sutton from Rockline Clan said.

He was only a few older than Lexa herself and the grandson of the first Ambassador she ever had from his clan. His father was the chief of the Clan so when his grandfather died about two years after Lexa created the Coalition, the responsibility fell to him to take on the mantle of being the Ambassador, especially since he was the youngest of three, but he took it in stride. He was by far one of the best Ambassadors Lexa has had the pleasure to work with and someone she was grateful to call her friend. In the other timeline, when the Ambassadors tried to dethrone her, he hadn’t been there.

His father had died leaving his eldest daughter, Sutton’s sister to take his place as the new Chief so he went back home for the funeral and for her coronation, leaving another in his place for that time. As soon as he heard about what had happened, he made sure to send her a letter explaining that in no way was he consulted by his substitute and that he most certainly did not agree with what was done to her and neither did his clan. She wrote back to him guaranteeing she was not angry with him or his people and that she wished he was back where he belongs and he promised he would, but she ended up dying before he did. However, now that things are different, she is glad to have him by her side.

“ **Exactly, but she is not going to get her war if it depends on that. She will have to find another way or finally gather the courage to flat out call me for battle but anyway, she is part of the subject I want to discuss however it’s not about her. It’s about the Sky People and the Mountain Men. I would like for the two clans to join our Coalition** ,” She said bluntly.

The ambassadors looked at each other and a few were shocked, Quentin, Sutton and Libby from the Shallow Valley Clan not so much. In fact, the last one had a smile on her face. Libby was a couple of years older than Lexa and someone very sweet but fierce when need be and whenever was spoken about the decimation of the Mountain Men, she spoke against it thinking about the lives of the innocent people so Lexa understood why she would feel happy to hear those words, after all, it is what she has been saying for years.

“ **You want them to become part of the Coalition? That is one hell of a bold move Commander** ,” Julien from the Glowing Forest Clan said chuckling. He was around the same age as Sutton which made them into close friends soon enough after starting on their jobs and someone Lexa had an interesting relationship with.

Julien, from all the Ambassadors was the second newcomers, Oscar being the first, given that Azgeda Ambassadors seem to have a thing for flying off her balcony. So, she was still getting to know him and how he works, how he thinks, how he acts, how he leads, even though people may not know those things about her, it is her job to know those things about her people and she does. So far, she could tell he was the most likely to forgo formalities, not out of disrespect but forgetfulness, most likely to joke in inappropriate moments and most likely to do anything that can piss off the Azgeda Ambassador, just for fun. He is wild, but not incompetent.

“ **It is, I know but also an important one. I have acknowledged it to all of you the importance of the assistance given to us by the Sky People, their knowledge of the enemy’s ways was what helped us win. I also have spent some time with them and their knowledge on healing far outweighs ours, with them joining us we could share the knowledge and maybe get to save many more lives that otherwise would have died. Like the Reapers, they were able to find a way to cure them and restore their minds. I saw it with my own eyes, Lincoln was a reaper and now you wouldn’t be able to tell it if you didn’t know before hand** ,” Lexa said.

“ **We heard stories of Reapers being cured but none of us knew for sure if it was true or just another crazy story based on wishful thinking** ,” Quentin spoke to her and Lexa nodded at him.

“ **I understand your doubt, I had the same one myself, but it is true. Their leader, Clarke is a very accomplished healer and her mother is one of the best I have ever seen. They worked on our wounded after the battle and were able to save almost all of them, very few died and not because they did not try** ,” Lexa explained to them.

“ **The Sky People we can understand and even agree Commander. We could see how it might be beneficial for us, but the Mountain Men? After everything they have done to our people? Especially the Woods Clan?** ” Ember asked her but before Lexa could say anything, Libby spoke up to her fellow Ambassador.

“ **The Commander is not asking us to accept the monsters that treated our people so poorly over the years because those people she already made sure to be killed according to our trials and our traditions. She is only asking us to give a second chance to the people who were innocent but could do nothing about it since they were trapped inside that place, to give the children a second chance at life** ,” Libby said to them.

“ **We understand that Libby, but our people won’t. All they know is that for years they have been terrorized by those people, that they have lost loved ones to them, that some loved one returned but as monsters ready to kill them as they would an animal. I’m not sure it will matter if it was just their leaders or all of them. And if it is the latter, then they are doomed either way** ,” Sutton expressed his opinion to her but also while looking at Lexa.

“ **Yeah buddy, but except for the last part, that is exactly what many people can say about the Ice Nation as well and yet, they have a seat at the Commander’s table, they have access to our supplies, have a voice in the decision made for our people. Take my clan for example, many of our villages were attacked by the Ice Queen’s personal army, the so called Polar Bears and yet when the Commander got their Queen on her knees begging for a spot at her Coalition, my clan took it in stride and rolled with it. Surely, we could do the same for people who deserved way more than that bitch ever would, don’t you think**?” Julien said to them and Lexa was pleasantly surprised by that. She was not expecting any support besides Libby, but wouldn’t you know? Maybe Julien is not such a wild card like she thought.


	61. Badass Politician

“ **Julien is right. We all have done something to each other’s clans at least once before, being very generous, even if not on purpose. And yet we all have chosen to move past that part of our history thinking about all the good that would come together would bring to our people and each clan in particular as well. We all have ripped the benefits of the Coalition despite our differences, why can’t we allow those clans to do the same? If we have given each other a second chance, why can’t we give it to them as well?** ” Libby said and Quentin spoke up.

“ **One could argue that Sky people are invaders and that the Mountain men are outlanders to us and therefore are not entitled to join us and enjoy whatever it is each of our clans have to offer our own people** ,” He said shrugging before Lexa spoke up.

“ **And those would not be good enough reasons for us to not see the benefits we could have from their joining us. This is evolution. Yes, they may be outlanders and invaders, as you put it, but they are here. That is undeniable and I believe it is in our best interest to have them on our side rather than to have them stand against us. How much would you like to bet that if we turn them away Azgeda will approach them promising them everything as long the Sky People side with them in the war against the rest of us?** ” Lexa said to them.

“ **The Commander is right. Desert Clan and Plain Riders are neutral, the rest she has on her side but I think she hasn’t done anything because she knows that if pushes comes to shove, Desert Clan would side with us and if we would get the Mountain men and the Sky People too, whatever army she and her allies could have would be crushed in the battlefield** ,” Ember spoke to the rest of them who nodded.

“ **I guess based on what you just said it would be safe to assume that I have The Woods Clan’s support on the matter?** ” Lexa asked the woman.

“ **As usual Commander. We are at your service** ,” Ember said, nodding her head.

“ **What about the rest of you? Where do you stand in this matter? Do they get to join us or not?** ” Lexa said and although no matter what was said, she would get them to join anyway, she was really hoping they would see things from her point of view or at least trust her to know what the hell she was doing by making this decision.

“ **You have Shallow Valley’s complete support on this Commander. In fact, we will be very happy to welcome the new additions at the Victory Feast** ,” Libby said bowing her head.

“ **I’m with Libby on this one. Glowing Forest also offer their support to your wise decision Commander. It is time things start to change for good** ,” Julien said bowing his head as well.

“ **Sutton? Quentin? What about the two of you? What is the stance of the Boat people and Rockline?** ” Lexa asked them and the two men looked at each other.

“ **The joining is an incredibly smart and wise decision Commander. Boat people will be more than glad to stand behind you on this on. You have our support** ,” Quentin said to her.

“ **Well, I guess Rockline can’t be the only one out of this, now could we?** ” Sutton said and Lexa smiled before he continued, “ **Jokes aside, Rockline stands by you Commander, as we have always done before since your ascension to the throne. Even if we may not see things the way you do, we trust your vision for our people and if you say it is the best, then we agree. Let them join** ,” Sutton confirmed his position and Lexa smiled, nodding her head.

“ **I thank all of you for trusting me and for accepting my proposal. Know that if I thought this was a bad deal for us, I would never have presented you with it in the first place** ,” She said and they nodded and after exchanging a few more words all 5 of the left the room and Lexa then instructed Gustus who was standing guard outside to call for Faye and Dala, the three Ambassadors of the neutral clans of the Desert and Plain Riders.

Getting them to agree to the joining of the two new clans was a little harder than the previous five. Lexa had to use her charms and talents as a politician to convince that really it was in their best interest for it to happen and although they were neutral clan, Desert Clan are always pending on siding with Trikru on almost anything, they just like to pretend they have no fix allegiance, but like Ember said, if push comes to shove and it did, they would side with her. And after two hours talking to them, Lexa was able to count with both of their support on this decision, which is why as soon as they were finished she warned Gustus to call all Ambassadors back for a meeting.

She spent no time trying to convince the others because she knew what their answer would be and she didn’t need to waste any more time and either way she could claim that she made the decision on her own. So, she put back her coat and shoulder pad, that signified her position as Heda and got out of her office, locking it behind her as she did and walked down the stairs towards her throne and sat down on it to wait for their arrival. Gustus, Anya and Titus were already there having been instructed to wait for this meeting.

As the ambassadors would start coming in, they would all walk up to the front of her throne and bow, falling on their knees before her as tradition demanded, all of them except, as usual, for the Azgeda Ambassador who liked to border on insolence most out of every one of the opposing clans, always taking too long to bow as if judging if she was worthy of it or not. One of these days she would teach him a lesson but that day was not today given the good mood she was in, so she let it go and waited until everyone was there before starting the meeting.

“ **Ambassadors of the Coalition, today is a very important day for after much thought and deliberation, weighing down the pros and cons of every choice presented to me on the matter, I have made a decision which I trust is in the best interest of all of our people. And I am here to proudly announce that decision to all of you. The decision is that in 3 days’ time, we shall have a summit to perform the ceremony to introduce the Sky people and the remaining of the Mountain Men as the 13 th and 14th clan of our coalition**,” Lexa spoke and five people were shocked by what they just heard.

“ **That is an outrage. You cannot invite those people to join us, join our Coalition, our people. They are the enemy, our people’s enemy** ,” Oscar raised his voice as he stood up from his seat. Lexa calmly turned to speak to him, maybe today was the day after all.

“ **You will see that I can invite new clans to join my Coalition if I think they are good additions to it and having spent time with both of them, I know that they will be. And as for the enemy aspect of your rebuttal to my proposition, Oscar, let us not forget that not two clans in our history are more enemies than Woods Clan and Ice Nation yet here we both are, working together for the greater good of all people. If our two clans can do that, surely, we can work with the Sky People and the Mountain Men, can we not?** ” Lexa said, challenging him.

“ **Ice Nation is one of us though, Commander. They are part of our people, always have been. They are not invaders or monsters. I agree with Oscar** ,” Melvin of the Blue Cliff said.

“ **I, for one, agree with the Commander and in the name of Shallow Valley offer her our support in this decision** ,” Libby spoke out from beside Melvin who turned to look at her.

“ **Of course, you would support her. You have wanted this since day one you took this chair, that is not a surprise, you traitor** ,” Melvin said nastily to her while she calmly looked at him.

“ **The only traitor here is you, Melvin. You have sold your soul to the devil for the power you currently hold or don’t you think we all know how it is that you got this position in the first place? You traded information on the previous Chief of your clan, whom you owed loyalty to so that you could get appointed Ambassador. You came here to escape your own clan who do not like you and barely tolerate you in this position, only accepting because they do not wish to dirty their hands with your blood** ,” Libby said and Melvin struck her on the face.

“ **Wash your mouth before…** ” He was saying but was stopped by something and when he looked down, he saw the tilt of a dagger embodied in his throat and the blood pouring down his neck as he fell to the ground in front of his seat, while everyone turned to look at the Commander, seeing that it was her dagger stuck on his throat. She looked positively angry and even Oscar was fearing for his life now which was why he was keeping his mouth shut. Lexa stood up from her throne, with her gaze still on the dying man on the floor and they all could see that she was watching him die which prompted them to stay quite.

“ **I will not allow for any of you to strike another Ambassador, specially not in front of me. I will let this pass, but this happens again, I will see this as an act of war and therefore the clan of the perpetrator will be punished accordingly. Do I make myself clear?** ” She said in a very clam but completely dangerous voice and everyone could feel a chill ran down their spine even those who knew were not in any danger of facing her wrath. They all nodded their heads.

“ **Good. Now, I thank those of you who have offered me your support in this matter, it will not be forgotten and for those that do not support my decision, you are entitled to your opinion but I will not accept disobedience or anyone who tries to jeopardize this. Libby, in the name of Blue Cliff, I apologize for their former Ambassadors action and in return, Shallow Valley will receive their portion of grains of the month. That is all. You are dismissed** ,” Lexa said before she sat back down on her throne as all the Ambassadors stood up and bowed down to her before quickly making their way out of the room.

“ **Commander, are you sure that this decision you made is the wise thing to do? Look how much trouble this idea is creating amongst the clans already** ,” Titus said to her as Lexa massaged her temple as soon as the doors closed and they were the only ones in the room.

“ **Yes, I am sure, Titus. Besides, when I accepted the Ice Nation, we had a similar experience did we not? This is no different and my decision has been made and it is final. I will not go back on it. The Sky People and the Mountain men will join the Coalition. Period** ,” She said as she turned her head to look at him and saw how crossed he looked for that.

“ **Commander…** ,” he tried saying but Lexa simply raised her hand and after everything, he knew better than to utter a single word if she didn’t allow him to.

“ **I don’t want to hear anything more, Titus. You may be my advisor and I might value your opinions, but the final word is and will always be the Commander’s, mine. And I made my decision. Now, what I want from you is to send two messengers, one to each clan and tell them that I am asking for their presence for a summit here in two days’ time and send word that the Blue Cliff need a new Ambassador. And for the Spirit, get rid of the body. I will be retiring to my quarters, not to be disturbed** ,” She said to him before she walked out of the room, leaving him to stare after her.

Lexa met with Gustus standing right outside and as she made her way to the elevator, he followed. Only once they were inside, did he dare speak, “ **That was an impressive throw, Lexa,** ” He complemented her, and she smiled at him.

“ **Thank you, Gustus. I couldn’t let him live after his transgression against Libby. Besides, I have been waiting for the chance to kill him since he first came her and finally the bastard handed to me in a silver platter** ,” She said, and he nodded. That man really was despicable. The elevator soon came to stop on the right floor and Lexa walked out with the bulky guard following behind before she bid him good night as well as the other two guards standing outside her door as she walked inside her room, closing the door behind her.


	62. Remodeling Arkadia

Back in Arkadia, when Clarke woke up the next day and realized that yesterday had not been a dream, that she had actually achieved one of the goals she was most apprehensive about, she couldn’t be happier about the result of her plan. Kane had been elected Chancellor with an overwhelming amount of votes, was sworn in yesterday and just to have this one victory, she was already thankful for the chance to come back and make things right because in no world would Pike ever be a good Chancellor, even if he didn’t hate the grounders. The man was selfish, rude, prejudiced, a total psychopath, violent and a terrible example of human being.

Kane, on the other hand, had started a little less like that but still enough to be a major asshole. Clarke could still remember the man he was before the culling. She had never really liked him, only tolerated him because he was married to her Aunt Callie, but even then, she barely spoke more than a few short sentences to him. Being responsible for the culling changed him, deep down to his core and it made him want to be a better man, find better solutions to problems than simply going around killing people. Even because as the culling had proven to him, death is not always the only option, if only you manage to have a little faith.

This is why she hadn’t wanted to believe that Kane could have ordered the massacre on Lexa’s army since that was just not the man she knew he was anymore. He was someone many of their people, Bellamy included, looked up to. He was someone who argued in favor of the truce and allegiance with the grounders, someone in favor of working together instead of fighting against. He couldn’t have ordered that atrocity to be done to innocent people. And then, when Octavia said he had lost the election Clarke couldn’t believe that the people didn’t choose him to be their leader, that instead of him, they had chosen Pike.

She knew now though that Bellamy’s support to Pike was what ultimately swayed many people to the psychopath’s side. Bellamy had come to be someone the people trusted after everything that he did to protect their kids in the dropship, to rescue them from the Mountain, the three months in which he stayed and helped build camp Jaha into Arkadia. Seeing him stand by Pike made them want to follow the man too because they had trusted Bellamy’s judgment, but only disaster and death came from that and Clarke was relieved to know that now the election was done for, there was no Pike, no hateful Bellamy and no massacre to be done which is why she was all smiles during breakfast with her family.

“What you did yesterday was pure craziness, Clarke,” Callie said chuckling as she and Kane had joined the Griffins for breakfast and Clarke smiled at her.

“Not at all, Aunt Callie. It would have been craziness for me to let Jaha continue holding the title while not doing what needs to be done for our people. Kane is the ideal leader for us down here on Earth and I only helped the people give him a chance. From now on, it will be up to him to make sure they see that they didn’t make a bad choice. Although I know for a fact that he won’t,” Clarke said before looking at him as he nodded at her.

“Well with the responsibility you put on me, I will have to do everything in my power to make it worth it and I plan on doing so. I don’t want to disappoint you or our people. They deserve for me to do my very best and that is exactly what I plan to do,” Kane said to all of them.

“The first step now will be for you to choose your new Council. Many of the others were favored by Jaha and will not want to work with you if your vision is much different from theirs which by Clarke’s speech yesterday, we can already know it is,” Jake explained. Kane nodded.

“Will you guys stay in the Council or will you leave like the others?” Charlotte asked her parents who smiled at her and shrugged.

“That is not our decision to make sweetie. That decision will be up to the new Chancellor to make. If he wants us to stay in the council or not,” Abby said to her and Kane chuckled at that.

“As if I would need to even think about it. If you two are not in the Council, what is the point of having one anyway? Of course, you are a part of my Council. Your places will only be eligible for other people if you want to leave in, which case I will not force you to stay, although there would be much groveling done before that happens,” Kane joked and they all chuckled.

“But this council will be made up with old people like the previous one? What about putting someone young on it like Clarke, Wells, Murphy or Raven?” Charlotte asked Kane.

“Given the fact that the only reason we are all sitting here like this is because of their hard work in securing our people’s safety, it would be very ungrateful of me if I didn’t recognize that by offering them a seat, wouldn’t it?” Kane said to the young Griffin and Charlotte nodded.

“You are offering them a seat at the Council, all of them?” A surprised Abby asked Kane who shook his head negative at her question.

“No, not all of them. As much as I would like to, I know that three of them would not accept it, but there is one I am desperately hoping will accept the seat as a Council member in charge of External Relations. What do you say Clarke? Are you up for it?” Kane asked her.

“Clarke, as a Council member? Cool,” Charlotte cheered and the other adults were supposed to be surprised but they weren’t really. With how important Clarke became to their people, it was only natural that she would remain working with the leadership of the people.

“Mom, Dad? What do you think about it?” Clarke asked her parents and they looked at each other before smiling and looking back at her.

“Although, we are always going to worry about your safety and want to protect you because that is what parents do no matter how old or how well their kid can handle herself, we have both understood that you have been born for this and you are amazing at it. Therefore, we couldn’t be happier to support you in this new job if that is what you want and since we all know it is, welcome to the Council, kiddo,” Jake said to her and she smiled at both of them.

“Well, I love you guys too and as for the job offer, I do accept it. I will be very happy to work with you guys,” Clarke agreed and they all nodded raising their glass to celebrate and then continued on with their breakfast until they finished and Kane called for the Griffins to come with him to the new Council room which they did and it was much more organized than it had been before and with a larger table with more chairs around it. Kane instructed them on where to sit and they did as they waited for the rest of the new additions to join.

And soon enough they came in, the first one to arrive was a woman named Peyton Lewis. Clarke knew who she was although they never had much contact before. Peyton was one of the leaders of the opposition to many rules on the Ark, such as the only one child rule. She entered many arguments with Jaha over revising the rule so that the parents be punished but not be executed for it however, Octavia and Bellamy could attest to the fact that he never listened to her. From what she knew about the woman, she was someone with strong and good principles, adamantly against injustice. Clarke wondered what her role would be.

The other ones to come inside though were people she knew well and to be honest already expected to find here. One was Monty, who Clarke knew would be responsible for the work reserved before to farm station and the other one was Bellamy, who Kane talked to her about giving him a seat on the Council as Chief of Security. At first Clarke was doubtful if Bellamy was the best choice for the role, especially since if Pike returned which he would, Bellamy could swing to his side once again, but Kane guaranteed to her that he would not let that happen.

He promised her that he would bring Bellamy as close to him as possible, really step up to play the role of father that he never had and Clarke knew that in the past timeline, in the three months Bellamy spent working with Kane, they did almost develop that kind of relationship which got stained by Pike and Bellamy’s anger. Which is why Clarke had asked for Kane to approach Bellamy a year before so they could strengthen that relationship and if Pike only returns three months from now, than she trusted that Kane could pull this off.

As soon as they all sat down, Kane started speaking, “First of all, I would like to thank all of you for accepting my request to become part of my Council. I understand that only together we will be able to better the life of our people and create a bright and peaceful future for the generations to come and in light of that, I want to formally introduce all of you. Starting from my right side, it’s our new Chief of External Relations, Clarke Griffin who will be responsible for any dealings we may have with the grounders,” He said while she nodded at everyone.

“Beside her, we have our Chief of Medical, Abigail Griffin who has accepted to continue on her previous role as well as her husband, Jake Griffin, our Chief of Engineering,” He said and the couple nodded in acknowledgment, “Then we have Monty Green, our new Chief of Farming, who will be responsible for the farming of our own crops and for our own food and beside him we have our new Chief of Security, Bellamy Blake,” The two boys nodded as well.

“And last but not least, Peyton Lewis, a dear friend of mine and our new Chief of Justice. Along with me and Bellamy, she will be responsible for remodeling our laws and justice system to suit our new life here on Earth and of course myself, Marcus Kane, new Chancellor. I hope that together we can do better for our people and show them a better way, a more peaceful and harmonious one and that we all compromise to do our best,” He finished his speech and all 6 new Council Members  nodded their heads as he sat down.

“Very well, the very first business we have to discuss is in regard of…,” He continued the meeting and went to discuss many first changes he wanted to make for the physical structure of the camp. Clarke helped as much as she could with that aspect but unfortunately, none of the women in the Council had much interest for that particular subject. However, the guys all discussed as her father and Monty took the reigns and thankfully, they quickly formed a plan of actions before they started on the talk regarding the security.

On this particular subject, Clarke had more interest in meanwhile her father and Monty both took a step back, so the discussion was mostly between her, Bellamy and Kane. They decided that it would be a good idea to try and learn a bit more about the grounders weapons for which Clarke promised to speak to the Commander to maybe sent a few warriors to train them. Bellamy was a bit skeptical about that at first, but Clarke and Kane managed to show him the benefits of that, along with the recruitment of more people to be part of the Guard.

As for Abby, she and Clarke had discussed what kind of improvements they could get if they had the chance to exchange knowledge with the grounders. Abby explained that their knowledge of medicinal plants and such would be extremely necessary for her and Clarke vouched that their knowledge would be very beneficial to the grounders as well so she could make something work with Lexa. They also discussed the placement of MedBay. They couldn’t keep the patients on tents so they would need to find a better place.

Peyton, on the other hand, talked about how some of the laws that their people had when up in the Ark had didn’t hold any value down here anymore. She spoke about how some couples had come to ask her if they were allowed to remove the birth control device even if they already had one kid. She explained how they were looking for validation that now that they were here, that these families could be expanded. Kane promptly told her that the only child rule is one he is sure they won’t be needing anymore so he told her to tell the couples that they were more than allowed to begin thinking about having more kids.

She thanked him and, more or less, that was how their first meeting as New Council went on and Clarke couldn’t be happier. They had covered all the basic needs of the people as well as the most pressing matters, and everyone had agreed with the measures they had decided to take on each subject and she couldn’t be prouder of their work. Things were definitely going in the right direction on her end, she just wished it could go as smoothly with Lexa, since Clarke missed her so much and wanted to be with her as soon as possible. She knew she had to be more patient now, she needed to believe that they would both succeed and when they did, they would finally be together, once and for all.


	63. Good News

The new day had started wonderfully, and Clarke had woken up feeling better than she had in a while. And as she got ready for the day, she thought about how different her life was now compared to how it had been in the original timeline. At this point in time in the other life, she would have been miles away from this place, running from her problems and trying to silence her demons, thinking that she was the worst of monsters and trying to think of a number of good reasons why she shouldn’t just give up and let herself die in the middle of the woods, which at the time was what she thought she deserved.

She went away and although at the time she thought it would be best for her, she had been so very wrong, she could laugh at her own stupidity. Being away from her people, from everyone she cared about, from everyone that loved her, being away from her mom didn’t help her at all when it came to her dealing with what she had done to the Mountain Men. She had a great number of nightmares when she was able to sleep. She barely ate what she managed to hunt. She barely took care of herself physically, barely cared of what happened to her and tried desperately to forget what she had done to those people, those innocent children, to Maya.

In fact, she now can say that the reason she left wasn’t because she didn’t want to be reminded of what she had done to save her people like she had told Bellamy when they were saying goodbye. She left because she was scared of what her people’s reaction to what she had done would be. How would they treat her after they realized it? How would Jasper treat her after she had killed his girlfriend? And now, knowing how devastating it could be to lose someone you love like that, she could only try and imagine what seeing her everyday would have done to him. Either, he would have forgiven her, or he would have tried to kill her.

The more she thought about it, the more she was grateful for the second chance to come back and do things differently, the right way or at least as close to that as humanly possible.  She was able to save those that mattered in the Mountain, she had saved Maya and Jasper, by proxy. She was able to save Finn from himself, Bellamy from becoming an easy prey for Pike, her father, her people, her friends, the grounders and, most importantly, Lexa was still safe, alive, and soon enough, Clarke knew they would be together again. Life was great for her, for them and she couldn’t be happier about it if she tried to.

With that in mind, she got up from the bed and went to get cleaned, dressed and soon enough she was on her way to have breakfast with her family. She decided to take turns, one day she was supposed to have breakfast was with her friends and dinner was with her family and the other day it was the other way around. She knew that as soon as Lexa got them to join the Coalition and she became the Ambassador, that she would have to leave and that meant not seeing them as often as she can do it now, so she is trying to enjoy the time she still has with them. Today was the second option so, she quickly grabbed her food and joined them.

“Good morning Mom, Dad. Morning Charlie,” Clarke said as she sat down with them, besides as smiling Charlotte and across from her parents, and the three occupants of the table looked at her before they all smiled, greeting her back.

“Good morning, sweetheart. I was wondering if you wanted to come and help me today. Charlotte is going to help Jackson and maybe you could help me like we used to do it on the Ark,” Abby said to her daughter and Clarke nodded her head, smiling.

“Of course, I want to come Mom. I don’t have any other plans for today, as far as I know we pretty much covered a lot of ground at the meeting yesterday, the rest is up to Kane so I’m really without a job. I would love to help you in MedBay,” She promptly agreed and Abby nodded smiling as Charlotte turned to look at her.

“How was it, anyway? Mom and Dad didn’t tell me anything about the meeting so it’s up to you to be a good sister and tell me. Who are the new council members?” The young girl asked the older blonde who turned to her and spoke.

“Me, Monty who is charge of farming, Bellamy is in charge of security and a woman named Peyton Lewis who will be responsible for adjusting the laws to suit our life here on Earth,” Clarke answered her sister.

“And we didn’t tell you because by the time your mother and I went to our quarters, you were already asleep, pumpkin and we didn’t want to wake you up just for that so we decided to let you sleep and bombard us with questions in the morning, just like you will be doing right about now,” Jake smiled replying to Charlotte who nodded at him.

“Okay, I understand Dad but next time, just wake me up? I want to know everything as soon as you can tell me,” She said to them and all three adults chuckled at her antics.

“We promise you we will keep you on the loop of how things are going, sweetie,” Abby said to her, and the young girl nodded smiling, satisfied with the result of her complaint.

They continued to have their breakfast and to chat about many things that they had talked about in the meeting to satisfy Charlotte’s curiosity. The girl wanted to know everything, literally so they had no choice but to tell her, Charlotte even managed to give her own opinions on a few of the subjects they discussed when Murphy came running through the hall until he came to their table, panting. All four of them turned to look at the boy with a worried expression on their faces, Clarke far more worried than the rest of them.

“John, is something wrong? Did anything happen? Is everyone okay?” She asked him worried clearly in her face and in her voice, so he took a deep breath before he started speaking.

“We’re okay and nothing is wrong, Blondie. The scouts just warned that there is a grounder approaching camp and Kane told me to come and get you given your new position as Chief of Grounder relations or something like that,” He explained as she nodded though frowning.

“Okay. I’m going,” She said standing up, before she moved to say goodbye to her parents and sister before she followed him out of the dining hall, neither running this time since they were talking about what could possibly be the reason why a messenger was being sent and what news could he possibly be bringing them from Lexa.

“Do you have any idea what this is about? Did she tell you anything about what is going on?” He asked her and she thought about a reason why a messenger would be here given that Lexa didn’t say anything to her in their latest call and could only think of one thing but decided to keep quiet, just in case she was wrong.

“Maybe, but I am not sure if she has done it already or not. I guess we’ll see,” Clarke said as she walked out of the station with Murphy and walked all the way to the gates where Kane and a few guards were looking at the messenger. The gates were opened and Clarke, Kane and Murphy, who was armed, walked outside to meet with him.

“My name is Clarke Griffin. What do you want?” She asked the guy who looked down at her from where he sat atop of his horse before he spoke.

“The Commander is issuing a summit and she has invited the Sky People to come to Polis,” He told them, and Clarke took a deep breath. Lexa had done it, after all.

“Very well, we would be honored to go. How many of us can we take to Polis for this summit?” She asked him and he answered her.

“You shall take two representatives and five guards but know that you cannot enter the city armed, it is against the law,” He explained to her, and she nodded.

“When do we need to go?” Clarke asked him.

“Immediately since the summit will be tomorrow,” He answered her, and she took a deep breath for the emotions swirling inside of her.

“Well, then we shall get ready to depart. Will you take us there?” Kane asked the man and the messenger nodded his head. “Okay, then give us an hour and we shall be going,” Kane said and nudged Clarke to walk back inside as did Murphy. Once they were inside, the gates closed behind them and Clarke finally found her voice again as she whispered to them.

“She did it. She managed to convince the Ambassadors to let us join the Coalition as the 13th clan just as she said she would,” She told them while the boys just looked at each other after receiving that new piece of information.

“That is what she pretended? To get us to join earlier than last time?” Kane asked her as they entered the station and Clarke nodded.

“Yes, that way we can avoid certain events that happened the last time we did, and this will also give us the time we need to prove ourselves to the rest of the clans, guaranteeing the building of a good relationship with them way before the people responsible for those events return to us,” She said to them as they entered the Chancellor room where Raven was already waiting for them.

“Hey, tell me everything,” The mechanic said and as they settled down, Clarke started to explain about what she and Lexa had talked about and what the messenger came to tell them.

“Okay, so how do we do this Clarke? They said two representatives and five guards. So, who is going?” Murphy asked them and they looked at each other.

“Me and Kane will be the representatives, obviously. If the summit really is our initiation into the Coalition, then Kane will need to take the mark again and I will stay there as Ambassador. As for the guards, I want the two of you, Bellamy and the Miller’s. What do you think, Kane?” Clarke told them her idea and waited for their input.

 “I agree with you. But, I wonder, did Lexa made the Ambassadors accept us into the Coalition by force? Because if that was the case, we need to do some damage control once we get there. We don’t want them to hate us from the start, it will only make things more difficult going forward,” Kane spoke as they all agreed.

“I understand but I don’t think that was the case. Last time, Lexa was forced to do that because as the legend of Wanheda grew stronger, people started to question her strength, which is a very dangerous thing to happen to her. She had no choice but to get us into the Coalition as fast as possible and why I had to bow down to her, to show that no matter how big the power of Wanheda was, Heda’s power would always be bigger. It was a politic maneuver to secure her own place in the throne, but this time is different,” Clarke started to explain to them.

“Because Lexa didn’t leave the fight and you didn’t kill everyone in the Mountain, you never became Wanheda, so people are not questioning her using you as the weapon, am I right?” Raven spoke, trying to understand what Clarke was saying.

“Exactly. The most I am to them is the Sky Princess, that’s it. Finn didn’t massacre TonDC, Lexa and I didn’t let it burn, there is no Wanheda, Pike is not here. All these events were a little responsible for our last welcome to the Coalition but this time, I know it was different. Lexa had good arguments to give them as well as time to digest before it is done. I believe that this time, we will actually have a chance at making this work,” Clarke told them.

“What happens once we do enter the Coalition? I wasn’t here for this part last time so I don’t know what exactly that will mean for us,” Murphy wondered.

“Well, as the 13th clan, we are officially part of the Grounders and now, we will answer to Lexa, as she is now our Commander. Many people will be scared about that prospect, but they have no reason to be. Lexa can as Heda interfere in the clans however she sees fit, but she doesn’t, unless it is detrimental to the safety of the Coalition or if the clan itself asks her to do it. She is not a tyrant, so she lets each leader run their clans the way they have always done. It will mean we will have to abide by the Coalition laws and help the clans we whatever we can as they will do the same for us. She will give us the instruction on all those matters,” Clarke explained to him as best as she could and he nodded having understood.

“Okay, so I think it’s time we get to packing and start on our merry way because I know there is someone here who is impatient to see her girl again,” Raven joked around and Clarke smiled before they all laughed about what the mechanic had said and moved out of their Chancellor’s office and towards their own room to start their packing. Clarke had to agree with Raven, she was now counting the minutes before she would be with Lexa again and she could barely wait.


	64. Happy Reunion

Explaining to her parents that she would be leaving with Kane and the others to go to Polis for a summit was easier than she had imagined. The one person who Clarke had thought would put up some resistance was her mother, but surprisingly so, Abby only asked her to be careful and to radio them to let them know she was okay. Her comprehensive attitude made Clarke that her father being alive is what is helping with that. The fact that he was there beside her all this time has been such a good influence on not only Abby herself, but also on their relationship that Clarke couldn’t be more grateful that she managed to save him.

Once everyone had been notified and goodbyes had been said, the group hoped onto the Rover and with Raven behind the wheel, they followed the messenger who was riding ahead of them, leading them through the path towards the capitol. The trip to Polis was done in a bit of apprehension and excitement coming from those that remembered the last time they had been there, as well to those that didn’t, which would include Bellamy and the Millers, who were selected to join Murphy as the security detail for their delegation. Raven, on the other hand, was there to help Clarke and Kane, as well as check out the capitol for the first time.

During the trip, Clarke’s mind went straight to Lexa. She had not known that her girlfriend had done it already. Lexa didn’t tell her about it in their conversation the night before and she had already known. She probably wanted it to be a surprise and a surprise it was, one Clarke was very happy to receive. The last time this decision was rushed out because of the need Lexa had that Clarke, or better that Wanheda, showed the people that the brunette was more powerful by bowing down and the fact that her people would join the Coalition came more as collateral damage even though Clarke knew the reasons why Lexa wanted them to join besides that.

But this time around, Lexa seemed to have actually taken the time to discuss this decision with her Ambassadors and somehow got them on her side so that they wouldn’t be opposed to it or caught by surprise like they were last time. Which, for the Sky People, could mean that given the fact that no massacre would follow it, Clarke made sure of that, that they will have a chance to prove themselves to the grounders without that event hanging above their heads and clouding any of their judgments. They will be able to show that they are good additions to the Coalition, without the need for revenge to stop them from having a fair chance at that.

They can finally make this partnership work and Clarke would be damned if they didn’t. She would personally kick the ass of anyone of her people that dared do anything to jeopardize what they would be accomplishing in Polis today, to be putting midly. And now knowing where they are going and why, Clarke was sure she made the right decision to get Lexa to stop the search for Farm Station and for Pike. If he was back, it is very likely that he would have done something to screw this up for them again and she couldn’t have that, they couldn’t have that.

At some point, they would find the survivors much like they did it before, but until that happens, Clarke, her girlfriend and the rest of their friends will have almost two months and a half to make sure to unify their people and the grounders as best as humanly possible so when Farm Station does join them, they will not have any means to start the war that they did last time, she will personally see to it and gladly for her and for everyone, the others agreed with her in regards to what shall be done to Pike and his followers once they arrive.

“Are you nervous about this meeting?” Raven asked her and she turned to briefly look at her best friend before looking back to her window, nodded.

Clarke let out a deep sigh. “Of course, I am. How could I not be nervous? We are going to their capitol. We are going to be meeting with each clan’s leader. It’s kind of a big deal, don’t you think Ray?” She said jokingly at the mechanic who smiled.

“I sure do, which is why I am shitting my pants right now, but I also know that it will be okay. I believe in you and Kane. Both of you got this,” She expressed to the blonde who nodded back.

“There is a lot at stake here. Too many lives, _our lives_ are depending on the success of this summit. I hope you are right and we can do this,” Clarke prayed for those words to come true.

“Don’t worry, Griff. When have I ever been wrong about something? I tell you, never. I am not about to start now,” Raven joked, trying to lift up her mood and Clarke had to admit she succeeded once the blonde starting chuckling at what she had said.

Given the presence of others inside the car, they couldn’t exactly talk openly about the situation, discuss the difference from last time, so that had to be enough. Soon, after a few hours driving, they finally managed to arrive in Polis. Raven parked the rover at the entrance, just as Kane had done it last time and they all got out, not forgetting to leave their guns inside the car, remembering the warning of no weapons allowed inside the city. They were checked by the guards before they were made to follow them inside the gates and walk through a few streets of the market, pass by some houses before they came to stand in front of the huge tower that 4 of them knew to be the Commander’s home.

“Wow, that thing is huge,” Murphy commented just for the fun of it, though he certainly remembered it and everything that he lived while inside and beneath that place.

“How did it survive the bombs? It’s amazing. I never thought I would see something like this,” Bellamy commented in awed and Clarke smiled at him, just as she caught out of the corner of her eyes Indra, Lincoln, Anya and Octavia coming for them. The younger Blake couldn’t contain herself and when she saw her brother, she took off in a run and called for him.

“Bell!” She said and with how loud she was, she most definitely caught his attention as he turned his head to the side where the sound came from and saw her running towards him before he started to run to meet her halfway.

“O!” He said as he passed by them and caught her in his arm as he twirled his sister around and Clarke and the others looked at the scene in front of them with a smile on their faces, the sibling reunion was very touching and it made Clarke miss Charlotte.

“Hey, big brother,” Octavia greeted him with a huge smile on her face once he put her back down on the ground and he returned the smile with a big one himself.

“Hi. I didn’t know you would be here,” He said to her as she nodded at him.

“I’m Indra’s second so that is why I get to be here for the summit. Besides you don’t think I would have missed the chance to see you again, do you?” Octavia joked with him as they hugged each other again as her companions finally caught up with them.

“Bellamy,” Lincoln said, greeting him as he came to stand behind Octavia and the guy in question looked up at the other guy before extending his hand for his brother-in-law to shake.

“Lincoln, thanks for taking care of her,” Bellamy said, greeting her boyfriend and Lincoln nodded at him, not needing to say anything else. Both guys managed to strike an understanding between the two of them when it came to the safety of the one thing they both had in common and cared about, which was Octavia. Indra and Anya passed the family reunion before they came to stand before the delegation.

“Welcome to our beloved capitol,” Indra said to them as they nodded at her.

“Thank you for having us. It is a beautiful city, we are grateful for having the chance to see it,” Clarke said diplomatically and both women nodded at her.

“Well, the other delegation hasn’t arrived yet and the summit will only happen at sundown, so you have until them to enjoy the city if you would like,” Indra said to them and the Sky People nodded, already eager to start checking out the city.

“Except for you Clarke, you can come with me. There are things we need to discuss in private,” Anya said to the blonde who nodded looking at her.

“Of course,” She agreed with the older woman as Anya motioned for her to follow. Clarke then looked and Kane, Raven and Murphy before she spoke to them, “Keep everyone in check. Don’t let them do anything stupid,” She instructed them who nodded their heads, promising her to be careful before she walked forward to join Anya and walked away from them. And along with Indra, the rest of them moved to walk around the city getting to know it, waiting for the summit to begin.

Meanwhile with Anya and Clarke, the two were also walking around the capitol, going in the direction of the tower and that was how Clarke knew that it had been Lexa who had sent Anya to get her and the thought of seeing her girlfriend, her fiancée again was making her heart beat faster. She couldn’t wait, these past few days have been torture for her and she was glad that the woman beside her seemed to approve of it enough to help them sneak around like this. Once they went inside the elevator and the doors closed, Anya turned to speak to Clarke.

“You do know how dangerous it is to be with her, don’t you? How much your life will be in danger just by being with her?” Anya said without looking at her and so neither did Clarke.

“Of course, I do Anya. She told me about what happened with Costia. Believe me, I know exactly what is at stake for me being in this relationship,” Clarke answered her firmly. If there was one thing she was sure of, it was that nothing would scare her away from being with the woman she loved. Anya nodded humming to herself.

“So, you know that there is a big chance of the same thing or something worse happening to you?” Anya asked her while Clarke nodded her head.

“Yes, and if you are wondering if that is going to scare me and make me run away, don’t. No danger, no threats to my life could make me give up on her. The only way you can get me away from her is if you kill me,” Clarke said firmly, and Anya took a while before she nodded.

“Good, the last thing she needs is to fall in love with someone who doesn’t have what it takes to be with her,” Anya said to her and Clarke nodded at what it seemed like Anya’s approval.

“I know what it takes to be with her, and I am more than ready for it, Anya. Besides, if the battle of the Mountain is anything to go by, her enemies should be scared of us, not the other way around, don’t you think?” Clarke said to the older woman and Anya looked at her searching for something she must have found as she looked away with a softer gaze this time.

“You make her happy in a way I have never seen before. Thank you for that,” She said lowly and Clarke smiled at her before she shook her head.

“You don’t have to thank me for that. Making her happy for the rest of our lives is the only thing I want,” Clarke spoke as the elevator stopped.

As the doors opened, Clarke looked ahead, she could see Lexa standing in front of her room waiting for her, with a big smile on her face looking right back at her. Clarke wasted no time saying goodbye to Anya. She simply walked forward until she came to stand in front of the woman and took her in. Lexa was wearing a long-sleeved shirt and her pants, no shoes or coat or even the intricate braids she always wore. It was the most casual look Clarke had ever seen the other girl wear and she looked absolutely stunning. Lexa then extended her hand to Clarke, who looked at it before grabbing it and walking inside the room, closing the door behind them.


	65. Love Love Love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigedasleng: Bold

As soon as the two of them entered the room and the door was closed, Lexa wasted no time before she pressed Clarke against the wall and locked them in a passionate kiss that had Clarke’s knees going weak. She held onto her girlfriend for support and opened her mouth, letting the brunette’s tongue start exploring as her own tongue battled for dominance, losing the fight, a fact that Clarke sure as hell didn’t mind at all. The only thing she could care to register was the feel of the love of her life pressed against her lighting the fire and the hunger inside of her and suddenly nothing else mattered to the blonde.

Lexa wasn’t fairing any different or better than Clarke was. The sight of the blonde walking towards her once she walked out of the elevator after some many days apart did things to her that she never thought to be possible. It brought a wave of warmth, love and happiness no one else had ever been able to bring it out of her with just one look. Suddenly, the only thing she wanted, the only thing she needed was to touch the blonde to be sure that she was really there and that Lexa could finally kiss her, hold her, feel her, which is why she wasted no time in making that desire known once they were behind closed doors.

She could feel what she was doing to Clarke, how the blonde was responding to her touch, her kisses and she knew that it was the same reaction the girl was extracting out of her, without any real effort on her part at all. It was just the way she reacted to her girlfriend and even though she didn’t want to part from the blonde, soon enough air became needed so they had no choice but to pull away, far enough so they could breathe but close enough to feel the other breathing. They looked at each other’s eyes feeling lost in pools of blue and green.

“I love you so much,” Clarke said as she continued to be mesmerized by Lexa’s eyes, it was one of her favorite things about her girlfriend.

“I love you too, much more than I ever loved anyone in my life,” Lexa replied to her and kissed Clarke though much more sweetly than the last one.

“You have no idea how much I missed you,” Clarke said panting and Lexa gave her a small smile as she pecked the blonde’s lips again and again.

“I think I do have a pretty good idea and if it was anything like how much I missed you, than what I do not know is how we managed to stay away this long without caving in,” Lexa spoke and the blonde smiled at her words.

“You would be surprised the amount of times I found myself almost getting out of Arkadia to come here to be with you. More times than I could count, that’s for sure,” Clarke joked.

“And exactly how did you manage to not do it? Managed to stay there until now?” Lexa asked her and Clarke smiled as she thought about it.

“By using every last drop of self-restraint and my sense of responsibility to my people and our mission to do it, but it was definitely not an easy task,” Clarke replied as Lexa nodded agreeing.

“Well, luckily for us, we can have a reprieve from that, finally. The summit isn’t until sundown and no one will be bothering us for the next few hours, so why don’t we use up that time for better purposes than talking?” Lexa said as she moved to kiss Clarke’s neck and the blonde closed her eyes at the pleasure before pulling Lexa’s head back to face her.

“I knew I loved you for more than just your good looks,” Clarke said smirking at her girlfriend as Lexa smirked right back at her and suddenly, the blonde was pulling Lexa’s shirt up and tossing it aside as they started walking in the direction of the bed and Clarke’s shirt was next as the women pulled back to get rid of their shoes and pants before they both climbed on the bed with Lexa on top of Clarke and settling in between her legs as they kissed passionately.

Soon enough, Lexa removed Clarke’s bra as well as her own, followed by their underwear as well as she traced kisses down the blonde’s neck as the sky girl moaned at the feeling of the brunette biting her neck and kissing it better. And suddenly there was no more barriers between them, their bodies were touching in every way and in every spot, they could feel every single part that was touching the other and the fire that was burning inside of both of them only grew and neither decided to hold back from being consumed by it.

They simply let themselves go. They let themselves forget anything and everything that wasn’t the each other. All that was around them, all that was and would be happening soon, all the responsibilities they had as leaders to their people, the mission they were on to change the past, everything that was at stake, that was on their hands to make it better for everyone was pushed to the far back of their minds as they made love, getting lost on each other, reaching climax together, time and time and time again, for hours.

After many rounds of their intense love making, the two lovers were cuddling underneath the covers which reached up to their waist, Clarke was lying on her side nestled against the brunette’s side with one arm draped over her waist and a leg intertwined with the brunette’s, with had her head lying on Lexa’s bare chest, hearing her heartbeat going steady as the brunette caressed her hair, arm all the way to the end of her back before tracing the same path back up, over and over again. Lexa was lying on her back, looking at the ceiling as she let herself truly enjoy this moment and this comforting silence before she decided to speak.

“I guess you could say my parents were polar-opposites. Everything one was, the other wasn’t but one thing in which they were equals, was their love for each other. When I was young before I was brought here to Polis, I loved to sit around and just watch them around one another. They were so in sync, it was beautiful to see but surprisingly enough or ironically enough, I never imagined I would ever have the same thing they did, that I would find someone who would be to me what my parents were to each other. I never imagined having a family of my own,” Lexa spoke as Clarke caressed her stomach.

“Why didn’t you? Wouldn’t it be normal for you to want that as well? I know I did, a lot in fact when I was a kid. I would imagine what my child would look like, what kind of person I would get married to,” Clarke asked her girlfriend and felt a kiss on top of her head making her smile.

“Because deep down, I always knew what I was, Clarke. I’m not trying to sound conceited, you know I am not like that, but I knew what the color of my blood meant and something inside of me always told me I was going to win my conclave, whenever it happened. So, in a way, I always knew I would be Commander and given the track record of past Commander when it came to finding love and all of that, I never really considered it to be an option,” Lexa answered her while Clarke pulled back, titling her head up to look at the older girl.

“Never? Not even when you were with Costia? I thought you had plans for a future with her. At least that was what I imagined you did,” Clarke asked, really curious about the answer to that question and Lexa smiled at seeing the curiosity in the blue eyes of the girl she loves.

“The future of getting married, having kids of my own? I never imagined that kind of future with Costia, would you believe that?” Lexa said smiling and Clarke seemed shocked about that piece of information and shook her head as she prompted herself to lean on her arm, so she could properly look at the brunette.

“Are you serious Lexa? Why not? From the way you always spoke about her and the love I can hear on your voice, I thought that you had plans for you two but that they were destroyed when she died. I could never imagine you didn’t think about having that kind of life with her,” Clarke told her as Lexa raised caressed Clarke’s hair out of the way, putting it behind her ear.

“Costia was someone who I loved very much. A part of me always will love her and miss her. She was a beautiful human being and she could imagine a future with Lexa alright. A future with the Commander? Not so much. She was not cut out for the kind of life I lead and I always knew that, although we loved each other very much, we weren’t meant for each other so I guess I never really found myself wanting that life with her, thinking about having a family with her,” Lexa explained to the blonde who nodded her head, understanding before she smiled.

“Should I be cocky and assume that you have imagined that kind of future with me?” Clarke asked her and Lexa smiled right back at her as she circled her arms around Clarke, basically pulling the blonde to lay on top of her as they looked at each other with nothing but love and happiness reflected in their eyes.

“If I have thought about having it all with you? You see, I actually have our entire lives planned out, Clarke. I already pictured you with white hair and crinkles by the corner of your eyes, but still remarkably and breathtakingly beautiful, playing with our 20 grandkids as I watch thinking about how lucky I was to have found you. That is just the basic, I have a much more detailed version of our lives in my head,” Lexa spoke with a smile on her face that mirrored the silly one Clarke had on hers, imagining the same thing.

“Have I told you how much I love you and how much I can’t wait to live my life with you? Have many kids and 20 grandkids or more, grow old and crinkled with you? You are everything to me and I love you more than anything in the world,” Clarke said to the brunette and Lexa pulled the blonde down to kiss her, a mix of sweetness and passion, getting lost in each other for a little while before pulling back.

“Now, onto other matters than our undying love for each other, should I assume that the summit is to introduce the Sky People as the 13th clan like last time?” Clarke asked her and Lexa smiled nodding her head.

“Yes, though this time it’s not only you. I managed to convince the Ambassadors to also let the Mountain Men join as the 14th clan,” Lexa told her, and Clarke was beyond shocked as she remembered Indra’s words about another delegation arriving.

“I cannot believe you managed to do that. How? I mean, how did you convince them? Don’t they hate the Mountain Men more than they probably ever hated us?” Clarke asked her and Lexa smiled at her girlfriend’s words.

“Yes, they did. But this is not the first time I had to do something like this. Getting Trikru to accept Azgeda into the Coalition was much more difficult if you could believe me and the fact that just before I did that, Nia had killed Costia made it that much harder for me. But in the matters of your people, the only thing that screwed up the summit last time was what Nia did and what created the hate my people felt for yours was what Pike did in retaliation. However, this time, there won’t be anything like that to mess it up this time, so everything shall be okay,” Lexa told her calmly and Clarke smiled as she pecked her lips.

“Does this mean that I am going to be living here with you from now on? Because if that is the case then you need to tell your other girls that there is no more having fun with you. You’re taken,” Clarke asked with a mischievous smile on her face as Lexa matched with one of her own and flipped them getting on top of Clarke as the blonde chuckled at it as did Lexa.

“ **Are you suggesting you own me now, Sky Girl?** ” She challenged her Clarke, jokingly and looked at her as the blonde raised her hand to caress her face and bring it down towards hers.

“ **You are mine, Commander** ,” Clarke said firmly, and Lexa smiled as she shook her head.

“ **Always** ,” Lexa said to her pouring her heart out throwing all that into a look and one word and Clarke’s breath was taken as she saw it as clear as day the love that Lexa felt for her.

“ **You are the love of my life, Alexandria of the Woods Clan. I love you so much** ,” Clarke said as tear fell down her eye while Lexa lifted her hand and swiped them away looking worriedly.

“ **Why are you crying my love?** ” Lexa asked and Clarke could only feel more tears coming before she was able to answer.

“ **I don’t want to lose you again, that’s all** ,” Clarke told her as Lexa wiped her tears and planted a kiss in both of her eyes before looking at her.

“ **I can’t promise nothing will happen to me, but what I can promise you is that I will not make it easy for my enemies. I promise that no matter what, I will put up a hell of fight to be with you for as long as I possibly can** ,” Lexa said firmly, not letting the blonde have any doubts about her words and Clarke nodded her head at that.

“ **That’s all I want from you. Don’t make it easy for anyone to take you away from me again, please?** ” Clarke asked her in a small voice and Lexa nodded at her.

“ **I won’t. I promise** ,” Lexa vouched before she leaned down to kiss Clarke in the mouth and having her hands roam around the blonde’s bodies as they started to get lost again in each other. Soon enough, the kiss fell to Clarke’s neck and the blonde couldn’t help the moan that escaped once Lexa started to lean down to capture one of her breast in her mouth and started sucking on it as her hand took care of the other one before she switched giving the other one the same attention and for the next hour, she showered Clarke with her love.

She knew all too well what it was like to lose someone you loved, but the thing was, she never loved Costia the way she loves Clarke, that was a fact. With that I mind, she couldn’t imagine what the blonde went through having to watch her bleed to death without being able to do anything about it. She knew it traumatized her, so she tried to appease that hurt with the only thing she knew to use against it, which was her love for the blonde. In every kiss, in each touch, she poured her feelings into it, willing Clarke to feel it in her skin how much Lexa loved her and how much she meant the promise she made the blonde.

She knew that with a job and responsibilities like hers, there would always be enemies lurking in the shadows waiting for a chance to strike her down. Nia was just one of many she was sure to face, the worst one being Death. But just like she promised Clarke, no matter who came after her, they would have to work hard and sweat a lot to take her from the blonde because if there was one thing Lexa knew how to do was fight. And if she was fighting for the person she loved, she was more than a formidable opponent. Even if Death itself came to claim her, she would fight tooth and nail to stay with Clarke, to have everything they dreamed of.

She was not losing Clarke ever again.

And that was a promise she intended to keep.


	66. City Tour

Meanwhile, the Sky People were taking their time walking around the city. Kane was finally having a chance to get a good look at it, given the fact that the few times in which he had been at the city, things were beyond terrible, for his people so he had mostly stayed in the tower to avoid more problems rising between them and the other clans. But now, he was having a wonderful time seeing a small part of the beauty of the grounder capitol and the others were getting their first look of the city, all of them were completely in awe of it. Not Murphy who unlike Kane and the others had actually roomed this city many times in the other timeline.

“Has the city always been like this? So full of people?” Kane asked Indra curiously as they walked around the city. The woman looked at him and shook her head.

“No, not before _Heda_ Lexa. The city was always the house of many people, but to have the street full of merchants and people from all clans dealing with each other in peace, friendship and harmony, that only happened after she created the Coalition,” Indra informed him.

“How old was she when she did that? Created the Coalition, I mean?” Murphy asked the warrior, curious about it. He didn’t know a lot about the woman his best friend was in love with and it was kind of his duty as Clarke’s friend to know at least a little bit about Lexa.

“She was around 14 years old when she started and it took around 2 to 3 years to get all clans to join,” Indra answered the young boy and everyone that was listening to their conversation was shocked at that revelation, even those who already knew the woman.

“If that was how young she was when she started to create the Coalition, just how old was she when she became Commander in the first place?” Octavia asked her mentor.

“Lexa was shy of her 12th birthday when she won the conclave and was called to lead our people,” Indra answered, and once again, they were shocked about that piece of information.

“She was just a kid though,” Bellamy said while the others nodded in agreement with his assessment, but Indra and Lincoln simply shrugged their shoulders in response.

“She was very young, but not a child in the way you speak of. Lexa always was and still is wise beyond her years and even at an early age, she was already a far better Commander than many that came before her combined,” Indra told them, and they nodded.

“Heda was the youngest of the novitiate but I don’t think there was one person in all the clans who didn’t see that she was the one meant to be Commander. It was no surprise to us when that happened and as soon as she took command, she proved why the Spirit had chosen her. She is by far the best Commander our people has ever had,” Lincoln explained to them as they continued the tour and talked, asking Indra and Lincoln many questions, the two showing a level of patience no one expected from them, but no one was complaining though, they were more than happy to have not warranted the woman’s anger nor her more violent tendencies.

They were walking through the streets, sometimes stopping at a certain stall and making small talks with the owners, trying different dishes, some to their taster, others not so much, but always trying to be as kind and accepting as they could to make a good impression on the people and along the way, Bellamy ended up following behind the group a little. His sister was too excited, she didn’t want to leave Indra’s side, also wanting to show the woman she was a dutiful second. But, he also knew that her curiosity to know as much as she could about this new world was also fueling her excitement and he couldn’t help but be happy for her.

Bellamy could see, as clear as the day, that Octavia had really found herself amid the grounders and most importantly, with Lincoln. And now, he couldn’t help but think that maybe she was always one of them. She was simply born at the wrong place. However, Octavia was now finally, where she belonged, where she was always meant to be. These thoughts were swirling in his mind until he felt a hand grab his arm and pull him towards an alley as he was pushed again the wall, finally recognizing his kidnapper and smirking right back at her.

“Echo, what are you doing? I could have killed you,” He said to her, panting from the scare she gave him while she chuckled at him.

“You don’t have your weapons with you, I know that much. And I am sorry if this will hurt your male ego, but I can win against you in a fight anytime,” She said to him and he smiled at her.

“No, it doesn’t hurt my male ego. I don’t have one of those and I couldn’t have with how many badass women I am surrounding myself with every day. You should know I have absolutely no problem surrendering to your sex’s clear superiority,” He said to her and she chuckled.

“Would you look at that? It seems you Sky People are not so dumb after all. There is still a light in the end of the tunnel for you. I’m glad to see that,” She replied, jokingly to him as he chuckled along with her.

“So, is there a particular reason why you decided to kidnap me in broad day light? Not really a wise choice, wouldn’t you agree Ms. Azgeda Spy?” He said to her and she chuckled at his joke.

“Well, I heard that your people would be given a tour of the city and I thought you would prefer my company over Indra’s, but if I was mistaken, I can get you back to your little group in no time,” She said to him with a smirk and he replied in kind as he pulled her to him.

“I think I prefer the kidnapping foreplay. Makes life more exciting,” He told her as she circled his neck with her arms and brought their lips together in a passionate kiss that took both of their breaths away. They went on until air was needed and they had no choice but to pull back.

“Would you run away or kill me if I said I missed you?” He said to her sincerely and she looked at him with kind of a wonder look in her eyes before she shook her head.

“Not at all. I guess if I must, I could say I missed you too,” She said to him uncertainly of the taste of those words in her mouth. She wrecked her brain trying to remember the last time she said that to someone, but couldn’t for the life of her remember it.

“Well, then why don’t we stop wasting time and you show me around?” He said to her and she nodded as she pulled him in the direction of the other end of the alley they were in as they came to another street and started walking around.

“How long have you been here for you to know these streets so well or is that knowledge part of your job as a spy?” He asked her, whispering the last part so only she could her, not wanting to put her in any danger by having people find out and she simply shook her head at him.

“I haven’t been here for long at all. I came along with the Commander so about 5 to 6 days, but given my previous knowledge and skills, it is always good to know where you are. So, on my first day here, I set out to learn these streets as much as I could, that way I would not get lost, know exactly where I am at all times and know exactly how fast I can get out of the place I’m at, if the situation calls for it,” She explained to him as they looked around the place.

“Are you always like this? Thinking strategically?” He asked her, before he boldly moved closer and took her hand in his. She looked at him before looking down at their hands as if weighing whether to continue like that or let go, but given how much she enjoyed holding his hand, she decided on the former and looking back ahead before intertwining their fingers together, missing the small triumphant smile Bellamy had on his face before he wiped it off.

“I kind of have to. My previous job was to do exactly that, infiltrate any place I was assigned to and convince anyone that I was from there, they just never met me before. So, I guess you could say that I am always like that, but given my new position, I am trying to do and see things from a different point of view. Open my mind and all of that,” She explained to him.

“Yeah, I get that. Sort of. I am not what you were, obviously, but I have spent almost my entire life having to look over my shoulder constantly, trying to protect my sister from everything and everyone that could hurt her when we were living on the Ark. It’s hard to learn to stop doing that, to recognize that she is growing up, that she is a grown-up woman and can take care of herself. That she doesn’t need me to protect her anymore,” He said to her.

“How has it been being away from her? Octavia being Indra’s second and being with Lincoln, I would assume she would be living in TonDC now,” She asked him, looking at him and he nodded his head at her in affirmative.

“She is and like I said, I’m trying to take one day at a time. My entire life, I had one job, one single purpose and it was to protect her, to keep her safe, feed, warm at night and most importantly, alive. Two months ago, if you asked me what I was, I would have said my sister’s keeper, for sure. That was all I have ever been since the moment she was born, so now, I guess I am trying to learn who am I if I’m not that anymore? Who is Bellamy, the man instead of Bellamy, the big brother?” He told her as they stopped to get something to eat.

It was this bowl filled with pieces of meat and fish and something else he wasn’t quite sure what it was, but Echo was getting for them, he couldn’t as well reject it. So, once she had traded it and gave one bowl to him, they resumed their walk as they also started to eat and he had to say whatever this dish was, it was delicious. She smiled as she saw him dig in. She had never spent time with someone like she was doing with him, without being necessarily for a mission. It was the first time she was with someone because she truly enjoyed their company and it was kind of scary but Echo was nothing if not brave.

“And so far, what have you discovered about Bellamy, the man?” She asked him.

“That he is a hot headed, selfish jerk. That he tends to act without thinking about who is getting hurt along the way or the consequences that his actions bring. That I’m someone that tends to let other people pay for his mistakes. That there are a lot of lessons I need to learn before I can truly say I am proud of the person I am,” He told her sincerely and she nodded, understanding the words he was saying in a personal level.

“I think, on that we are the same. I am still trying to figure out who I am besides just a puppet for power hungry leaders to use as they please and I don’t think I exactly like the person I have been the whole time,” She said to him and he nodded as they continued walking and talking like this. They walk and get to know the city as well as get to know each other better, as they told stories of their home, of their families, themselves, laughed, played, joked around, just plain out having fun, not being more than just two tourists watching the view.

The other group had similar experiences. Kane and Indra continued to talk apart from the kids, diving into more serious matters, such as trading routes, and whatnot. Meanwhile Lincoln took on the mantle of answering the questions the younger group and Octavia had about the city, the Commander and his people in general. They also stayed to eat with Kane trying out some Trigedasleng, making the _Trikru_ chief feel somewhat proud of his attempt at mixing their customs together, of trying to understand her people. They were still walking when they crossed with another group of people being led through the city by Lexa’s guards as well and they instantly recognized two of them at least.

“Jasper. Maya. Over here,” Raven called for the couple who saw them and stirred their little group in their direction, both groups attracting the attention of the people around them.

“Hey guys. We saw the Rovers outside and thought you would be here,” The boy said as he hugged his friends as well as Kane, though he only nodded at Miller Sr.

“Well, we had hoped you were here, so we wouldn’t feel so alone and scared, to be completely honest,” Maya said as she greeted them as well as she greeted Octavia, Lincoln and Indra respectfully so.

“Are you guys here for the summit too?” Murphy asked them and the girl nodded her head.

“We received the invitation by a messenger earlier today, so we packed what we would need and came, they brought horses for us to use which was very kind,” She said to them.

“And how was riding a horse?” Nathan asked them and Maya looked at her companions. Meagan and Scott and three more of her new guards.

“It was amazing. Horses are truly magnificent creatures. The way they move and the way you can feel their muscle moving beneath you, it was most certainly an experience we could never forget,” Meagan replied excitedly and they nodded at her words, even the _Trikru_ that were listening to their conversation from the side understood what she was talking about.

“What do you guys think this summit is about and why would we be invited to it?” Scott asked them though directing his question to Kane who shrugged.

“I don’t know, we were not told but I am sure it’s nothing to be afraid of. The grounders are our allies. I have faith that things will work out for all of our people,” He said to them convincingly and everyone nodded at his words.

“Do you want to join us on our tour of the city?” Kane asked them and they nodded before they resumed their pace as Murphy came to stand beside him.

“I was not expecting them. Do you think they are here for the same reason as us?” He whispered to him and Kane nodded at the younger guy.

“It has to be. It makes perfect sense to add them to the mix as well. It’s a very good move from them on this game we are playing,” Kane whispered back and they boy nodded as they kept quiet after that, continuing to enjoy the walk before Indra warned that it was time for the summit and she would be escorting them back to the tower. Just as Octavia was asking after her brother who had disappeared and not returned yet, Bellamy came, jogging towards them.

“Hey, I’m here,” He said to the group as he came to a stop along with them and Octavia came to him before whispering in his ear.

“Where the hell were you all this time? You just left us,” She said to him and he shrugged at her, not wanting to share where he was, much less with who he had been all afternoon.

“I got lost and saw the city for myself, but when I saw that the sun was setting, I decided to follow the view of the tower and came back to see you guys were already here,” He told her and looked away ending the conversation, more like inquisition though.

He had an amazing time with Echo. Spending the afternoon with her, it was almost like a date though he wasn’t sure the woman would like the implications of what that means in the long run, but nonetheless, the two had an amazing time and he was wondering if they would have a chance to be together tonight, given that he would only have to return to Arkadia the next day. He surely hoped so. The more time he spent with her, the more he wanted to be with her.

Anyway, the two groups of people were ushered inside the huge tower and came to stop in front of two doors who opened revealing the elevator. Indra ushered the Sky People in first and pressed the button to the top floor before the doors closed and they started going up. To say that they were shocked the grounders had access to such a thing was an understatement and Raven was the first one to say something as she spoke to Murphy about it.

“I think I have fallen in love with this thing,” She said to her best friend who chuckled at that and nodded.

“Fallen in love? I think by the time we reached the top, you will have married this thing,” He said and everyone inside chuckled at that, including the mechanic.

When the doors were opened the walked out and a guard was outside waiting for them. He led them towards the throne room and towards their spot before he left. They could see that the other delegations were there already and looking at them, trying to assess them, figure them out. It didn’t take long before the Mountain delegation came in, with a much more surprised look on their faces, as they took it all in, the place, the decoration, everything before they were brought to stand beside the Sky People and finally noticed the stares as well, taking on a fearful look about what was going to happen next.


	67. The summit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys. It's been a long time, hasn't it? First of all, I wanted to thank everyone who read this story even through the mistakes and who have shown support to me and to my stories. I honestlyt couldnt have carried on without you guys, so I want to say thank you so much for everything, every comment, every word of comfort and support. You guys are amazing.
> 
> So without further ado, here is the next chapter.

Everyone from the two new delegations was a bit nervous. And truth be told, how could they not be? Even Raven, Murphy and Kane were nervous as well. Mainly because they knew how important this moment was while the others were worried about what this was all about. But the Sky People weren’t nearly as apprehensive as the Mountain Men were and with reason. Between the two people, they had done the most damage to the grounders in general, so they remained quiet, not uttering one single word in fear of disrespecting or angering any of the grounders in the room. The Sky People, however, did not share that same thought.

“This is wicked cool,” Nathan said about the room and the others nodded their heads.

“Watch what you say about them. We don’t want to insult anyone here, especially not their traditions,” Kane warned the younger guy who looked at him and nodded.

“Where is Clarke, Kane? Shouldn’t she be back by now?” Bellamy asked the man, a little bit worried about his friend’s disappearance and the older guy looked at him.

“Clarke is okay, don’t worry. She was just called to speak with the Commander first, but she should be joining us at any moment now,” Kane told him, and Bellamy nodded trusting the older man, who he came to respect like a father.

“Barbie is probably better than all of us together,” Murphy whispered while smirking to Raven who nodded, trying to suppress a chuckle, both of them knowing exactly what Clarke had been doing all afternoon. Or rather, who she had been doing.

Meanwhile the other delegations were all observing them, how they act, how they look, analyzing every move each one of them was doing. They had agreed to let them join the Coalition because they trusted their Commander, not because they trusted these newcomers. Trust would have to be earned, and the only thing they are going to give both people is the chance for them to earn it. _Trishanakru_ and _Boudalankru_ were standing side by side and so Julien and Sutton were talking in _Trigedasleng_ about them.

“ **They are certainly different from us, even in the way they dress**. **Though I like their style** ,” Julien said to his friend who nodded at him.

“ **Yes, but from what I heard from my general, they can be fierce warriors when it comes to defending their people from possible enemies, which is an admirable quality as far as I’m concerned** ,” Sutton replied to the other guy.

“ **It definitely is, but their ways of fighting are so different from us. We use sword, spear, we look in our enemies’ eyes when we kill them. They use those weapons that shoots things from a distance, not very honorable. I much prefer ours** ,” Julien replied as Sutton nodded.

“ **I agree with you. We fight more honorably, which is why I think Commander will be sending warriors to teach them how to fight using our weapons. After all, you never know when you will run out of bullets** _,_ ” Sutton affirmed.

“ **What do you think Oscar is thinking about this? Will the Ice Nation quietly accept this?** ” Julien asked him and Sutton sighed.

“ **When have they ever accepted anything quietly? No, the repercussion for this is coming, my friend. My only concern is that when it does, it will come along with a war** ,” Sutton replied and Julien nodded his head to that sharing his friend’s concern as both of them turned their heads to the side to look at the _Azgeda_ Ambassador, only to see him talking with his general.

“ **Have word reached our Queen about this yet?** ” Oscar asked Echo who nodded at him.

“ **I have sent messengers to deliver the news to her, however they should only be getting there in two days. Either way, it will have already happened** **by the time she is notified** ,” She replied to him, trying to not let her distrust of the Queen show to him.

“ **If only we had known it before, we could have used this moment to further down the plan but this will definitely be a setback our Queen will most definitely not be happy about** ,” Oscar replied to her who nodded though a new part of her, a part that was growing day by day, was not that unhappy about the fact that the messenger wouldn’t be delivered in time.

Ever since the talk she had with Lexa in the camp following the defeat of the Mountain, Echo had been questioning all the previous truths she had blinded believed when it came to her Queen and the interest part was that more and more, she was seeing that things may not be as she had previously thought them to be. That maybe her Queen didn’t exactly have their people’s best interest in mind and was only out for more power for herself. It was a heartbreaking notion for her, but if it was true, Echo was happy she wasn’t blind to it anymore.

They were all talking amongst themselves when the doors opened catching their attention as Clarke walked in along with Anya, both women talking as they departed, each one to go to their respective clan delegation. Some of the Ambassadors could guess who she was, given that they had heard the tales of the sky girl with the sun in her hair and how she defeated not only their people, but also was responsible for helping taking down the Mountain Men and their leaders. They all paid attention to her now and she felt it, however Clarke decided to ignore it as she joined her friends, greeting the MW delegation.

“Hey guys, sorry for the delay. Did you guys have fun looking around the city?” She asked them as Raven, Bellamy and Murphy hugged her and she hugged them back.

“You sure took your time, didn’t you Princess? Making sure she was still as good in bed as you remembered?” Murphy whispered in her ear as he pulled back smirking at her and she slapped him in the arm.

“Shut up, Murphy,” She said to him but without any real bite to her voice. He only chuckled at that before Raven pulled her away from him.

“Ignore the jackass, please. It’s what I do, most of the time and it actually helps. Now, tell me, is everything okay?” Raven asked her and Clarke nodded, not hiding the smile from her best friend, who only smiled in return.

“Everything is more than okay. For me and for all of us,” She told raven who nodded before side-hugging her and continued to talk.

The two of them were like that for a few more moments before the doors were opened, catching everyone’s attention as they all watched Gustus and Titus enter the room, going all the way to the few steps leading up where the throne was located, each of them taking their respective place, as advisor and bodyguard, on either side of the throne as the bald man turned to everyone in the room and Clarke and Raven pulled away from each other before straightening up their posture facing the men as a woman started singing, the same woman singing the same song as last time, as the doors opened a second time and then she came in.

Lexa.

Clarke watched as her girlfriend, dressed in the same outfit as the one she wore last summit, walked pass them and just like the men, went all the way up the steps, standing in front of the throne as she turned around and faced them. Clarke’s breath was taken away. Lexa looked like an absolute goddess and Clarke wasn’t sure she wasn’t one. She knew she would have this vision implanted in her memory until the day she died and just like magnets, their eyes found each other and for one moment, were locked and lost in each other before Lexa looked away.

It was one second for everyone else but for them, it was an eternity. In that one second, each of them was able to see clearly what was going on inside each other’s mind and soul and Clarke only wished they were alone so she could kiss the girl into oblivion, but they weren’t and as Lexa looked ahead, it became known what time was it and Clarke was the first of everyone present to drop to her knees bowing to the girl she loved and she could feel Lexa’s and everyone’s eyes on her, but she didn’t care. Soon enough, she was followed by Kane, Raven and Murphy, then all the others did it as well, including the Mountain Men who were following in their lead.

Everyone bowed down to her as they usually did, but the one who Lexa didn’t like seeing do it was Clarke. She never liked the thought of the girl she loved bowing to her, as if she was inferior to her. Yes, Clarke didn’t have the power Lexa was supposed to have, but to the brunette, in her heart, Clarke was in every way her equal and she hated that this made it seemed like the blonde was below her, she wasn’t and never would be. Clarke wasn’t supposed to be with the others, bowing down to her. She was supposed to be by Lexa’s side being bowed down to, just like the brunette.

One day. One day, Lexa promised herself, she would make it happen. She would make her people recognize and respect Clarke the way she deserved to be respected as the amazing leader she was. One day, she would make Clarke stand not behind her nor below her, but beside her, receiving all the praises and glories she deserved to receive from all of their people. However, for now, Lexa reminded herself to keep up appearances, to go ahead with her responsibility to this summit and to all her people and that was what she did. She waited for the Coalition song to be finished before she straightened up and spoke.

“Hail warriors of the 12 Clans,” She said to them in her Commander voice, loud enough for all of them to hear but not harsh, as she waited for their reply.

“Hail Commander of the Blood,” Came as they spoke in unison as it was the tradition. She took a deep breath before she spoke again.

“Rise,” She told and they all stood up, facing her this time. She risked a quick look at Clarke and saw the blonde give her a tiny nod and that was the encouragement she needed to go on.

“We welcome Skaikru and Maunon to our halls, in the spirit of friendship and harmony. May past grievance be left in the past and may the future bring peace between all of us,” She said as she looked and nodded to them as they replied in kind, nodding back to her.

“The reason for the summit is to welcome both clans into our Coalition. As previously discussed, we believe that their addition will not only be fruitful for our people but will also be one step further closer to our goal of peace between all of us. It is time to stop the meaningless wars and to finally have peace, have the chance of a future where our children can flourish and not have to worry about death, war and killing. A future where we won’t have to lose everyone we love to pointless wars as done in the past, a future in each we will help each other up and not bring each other down,” Lexa made a speech as they all listened to her.

“I believed that our ways, the old ways were the only way for us to survive, but someone very smart and wise reminded me of an important fact that I, that **_we_** forgot down the road that led us here. Life is about more than just surviving, and we **_all_** deserve better than that,” Lexa spoke firmly and at hearing those words, her words being spoke in this moment, Clarke couldn’t love the brunette more if she tried. It was a battle of her own not to smile or simply walk up the stair and kiss Lexa senseless. Self-restraint to the max.

“We have all made mistakes towards one another. We have all waged war against each other at one point. We have all taken lives from each other, yet here we are, together. Working to leave that behind us. Our Coalition has been fruitful and has helped each clan in one aspect or another and if we have extended our hands to those who have wronged us before, we can surely do so now as well. Those who were lost will never be forgotten but may they be the last ones to lose their lives when more death can be avoided. Let’s leave the past in the past and focus on the future,” Lexa said to them, finishing her speech.

“To symbolize this union, to symbolize how we are one people, the leader of the Sky People and of the Mountain Men must bear our mark,” Lexa instructed and everyone looked at them.

Kane readily stepped forward as did Maya who was following their lead, not knowing what to expect from this. Kane put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, trying to give her some silent comfort and she seemed to relax a little, whatever it was, she could do it. She had no choice. For her people, she must do this. They both nodded at the Commander, signaling they were ready for whatever it was that came next and she nodded back at them before she spoke.

“Present your arm,” Lexa said and motioned for the warrior to get ready. Kane looked at Maya and leaned down to whisper to her.

“I will go first. Do exactly what I do, understand?” He said to her and she looked at him and nodded. The warrior came forward with the iron and Kane lifted up his sleeve and the warrior branded him as he held it in the pain, only slightly hissing as the warrior pulled back and put it over the fire to heat again as Kane stood by. Clarke could see that Maya was scared and wanting to retreat so she took a step to the girl and spoke in her ear.

“This is a once in a lifetime opportunity, your people can’t afford you to fail them. No matter how much it hurts, do not show it. Fake it till you make it. They are counting on you for it,” Clarke said, as the girl looked at her and nodded. Clarke was right, she had to do this.

Once the warrior came back, Maya took a deep breath before raising the sleeve of her shirt as well as presenting her arm to him and without delay, he put the iron on her arm, branding her as well. The pain was nothing like she had ever felt before, but she held it in. Clarke was right, she had to. She couldn’t show any weakness and like Kane, she only hissed at it, even though she was also holding in the tears that were forming in her eyes and for her, not soon enough, the iron was removed and although the pain didn’t stop, it certainly became more bearable and as Maya walked back to her people and Kane joined his, Lexa spoke.

“Let us welcome, the 13th Clan of the Coalition, _Skaikru_ ,” She said and suddenly a guard came with the new banner for them, like the one all clans had and it was with the same symbol as before and put in front of them. “Let us also welcome, the 14th Clan of the Coalition, _Maunon_ ,” Another guard came in with a banner carrying their new symbol, which was made of two open triangles, where one was inverted and on top of the other and had long lines passing horizontally and vertically in the middle.

“Now, each clan must choose an Ambassador and who will stay here in Polis to be the liaison between your people and me,” Lexa instructed and making a scene of talking with Kane, Clarke readily stepped forward, presenting herself.

“I will be the Ambassador for the Skaikru, Heda,” Clarke said before bowing her head and Lexa nodded, accepting her to the position before she looked at the Maunon.

“I will be the Ambassador for the Maunon, Heda,” Scott stepped forward and presented himself, doing what Clarke did, bowing his head down and Lexa once again nodded accepting him for the position.

“Very well, Clarke kom Skaikru and Scott kom Maunon, now you both must choose a general who will be staying here with you. If your option has not come today, once you return to your clan to deliver the news, he or she must accompany you when you come back,” She instructed them and both Clarke and Scott chose the second option and Lexa nodded, “Very well. Each clan is given one floor of the tower for their Ambassadors to be when here on Polis. Skaikru, will take the thirteenth floor and Maunon, the fourteenth. Soon, each new clan will have their Embassy here, which is a house where the rest of the people can stay. Understood?” She told them and each of them nodded their heads.

“One last thing, each of you will be given two written copy of the laws of the Coalition, one for your leader, another for your Ambassador. In this copy, you will find all the information you need. Should you have any doubts, tell your Ambassador and they shall ask me. Alanon,” She instructed them before a guard came to them and offered both Kane and Maya as well as Clarke and Scott the copies which they took and made a mental note to go over it as soon as possible to not make any mistakes.

“Now, that the summit is over, I invite the delegations to a banquet especially prepared for this occasion,” She said before she stepped down from the throne and walked away from the room as Titus and Gustus followed right behind her, before everyone else quickly followed after her. The Sky People and the Mountain Men were relieved that everything had gone smoothly but four people were much more relieved at that. Things were finally looking good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DId you guys enjoy it? Was it good? I hope so.  
> Please comment a lot, I want to get to 400 comments, let's go!!!  
> Kisses, kisses,  
> Your Author.


	68. Greet, meet and eat

As Lexa announced once the summit was over, both clans were welcomed into the Coalition and after they chose their Ambassadors, all delegations followed the Commander into the enormous dining hall where a wide feast awaited them. The dinner was not yet to be served, so until then, the moment was to be used by the delegations to mingle amongst themselves and get to know one another better, something Lexa had thought of after the first two clans joined the Coalition. It was the moment to either make allies or enemies. Lexa didn’t meddle in this moment, not unless a fight happened. This was all on the Ambassadors and their people.

So, as they entered the room, there was a few musicians playing a sweet tune as Lexa motioned for them to enjoy themselves and each clan went separate ways as she continued talking with her generals. Titus, as Flamekeeper, didn’t participate in this part of the festivities either. His job was not to enjoy himself. It was simply be take care of the Flame if there was the need to pass it down or to be there for Lexa to advise her politically. Since neither job was required of him in this moment, he already retired to his quarters, leaving Lexa with only Anya and Gustus by her side, to make her security and also to indulge her in conversations as the one they were having right now.

“So, what do either one of you think of tonight’s summit?” Lexa asked two of the people she considered family as she took a sip of her drink and stood at the corner simply watching her Ambassadors talking with one another. They knew not to come to her until she came to them.

“Well, I can definitely say I was surprised by the _Maunon_ leader. I could swear she would cry out in pain once the iron made contact with her skin, but she held it in surprisingly,” Anya spoke her opinion, and Lexa nodded her head at her former mentor. She had also been surprised by that. The girl didn’t exactly look like someone who could withstand the pain without making a sound and yet she did. It seemed that they could turn out to be even better additions than Lexa had previously thought them they would.

“At first, she seemed scared, which is understandable, but after Clarke spoke to her, something in her changed and suddenly she was ready for it, even not knowing what **_it_** was,” Lexa said and the other two nodded at her words.

“What surprised you about tonight’s event Gustus? Something has to have surprised you,” Anya asked the man as he looked down at the two of them and spoke.

“What surprised me was how the sky girl so readily bowed before the Commander, beating all others by doing it first. She is something else entirely,” He said to them and they nodded.

“Yeah, I was surprised by it too, but Clarke is a very astute leader and she had seen our people bow to me before. I’m thinking she believed the moment would call for it as well and did it first to show they have no problem in acknowledging me as their Commander now,” Lexa said although she knew it was much more than that.

“Yes, that could be it, but I question, does she even know what bowing to you represents? That she is surrendering before your power, that she is recognizing you as stronger, as superior to her? I don’t think so. Maybe if she did know that, she wouldn’t have done it. She doesn’t seem the type to let her pride take such a hit,” Gustus said out loud and Anya nodded.

“I have to agree with Gustus on that one. The girl is prideful and maybe eve bit a tad of insubordinate, this will certainly be a change of pace for her. Are you sure she is okay with it?” Anya asked Lexa with a double meaning to her words that spoke to the fact that the woman knew of the nature of her relationship with Clarke and Lexa nodded.

“I think she is well-aware of what it means to bow before me and it’s okay with it. Clarke is very smart and although she has her pride, as does everyone, bowing down to me will have not severed it,” Lexa said as she turned to look for the girl in question taking no time at all finding her, but who she was talking to was what made Lexa a bit worried about her girlfriend.

As Prince of _Azgeda_ , and more or less, her prisoner of war, Roan was allowed to participate in the feast and although in another life, Lexa knew he did a lot for Clarke, now she wasn’t so sure about him. Which side he would be on when push comes to shove. If he is to be a good leader, then the only side he must be on is the side that will have the best outcome for his people. How to determine if when Nia wages war, he will think that Lexa is the better option for him and his people? Is he going to choose her over his own mother? Lexa was counting on that fact that she had two more months to show him that she was better than that tyrant.

Meanwhile in another part of the room, Clarke was surprised of this part of the summit, after all the last time they tried this, just like the feast in TonDC after the burning of the bodies, they didn’t get this far given the interruption. Only that in the case of the last summit, what followed after led them all to start preparing in case of a war against Nia and the Ice Nation, followed by Pike’s massacre of _Trikru_ ’s peacekeeping forces. But this time nothing like that happened, they have joined the Coalition and was mingling with the other clans securing a good relation with them and she was filling in her cup with more water, not wanting to drink, when she was approached by someone whose voice she recognized easily.

“The Great Sky Princess,” Roan said as he came to stand by her side and she turned her head to look at him. He looked different than the last time she saw him. His hair was much longer and the responsibility to his people no longer upon his shoulder.

“And who would you be?” She asked him although she knew perfectly well the man in front of her who she had once considered to be her friend, one of the few people who knew, a little about what Lexa meant to her and what she meant for Lexa.

“Roan, Prince of _Azgeda_ , the Commander’s current prisoner of war here in Polis,” He said to her as he offered his arm and she took it on her own shaking it.

“You know, where I am from, prisoners do not get to enjoy such events as these. They are usually kept in cells, with minimal contact with the outside world, so forgive me if I find it hard to believe you are a prisoner. If it is true than the Commander is far more lenient than I had expected her to be in her position,” She said to him and he gave a small smirk at that.

“Both are true. I am a prisoner and Lexa is more lenient than most would be in her position. It is why some people think her to be weak,” He said to her and she nodded at him.

“Mercifulness does not equal weakness, it equals humanity. And a leader that isn’t human or compassionate to the pain of their people, it’s not a leader. It’s a tyrant,” She said to him and took a sip of her cup as he looked at her before nodding.

“It’s that what you think?” He asked her and she nodded.

“Yes. I read somewhere that having a caring heart in a cruel world does not make you weak, it makes you brave. I believe that, don’t you?” She asked him and he shrugged.

“Maybe where you come from that can be true, but here, things are different,” He said to her and she decided she had said enough on the matter and nodded at him.

“Perhaps,” She said as she felt, rather than saw a certain pair of eyes burn a hole on her back. She didn’t need to turn around to know that Lexa was looking at her. She could feel it in her bones and she couldn’t help but wonder what the brunette must be thinking seeing her talking with Roan. She would probably be worried and as he got distracted looking at the food, she risked looking behind her and into the green orbs of her girlfriend and there it was. Worry. Clarke smiled at the girl before she turned back towards Roan and continued talking to him.

In another part of the room, Bellamy was observing the Ambassadors and leaders talking around. He could see Kane and Miller Sr. with some clan leaders, he thought. Meanwhile Nathan, Raven and Murphy were talking with a few guys and they seemed to be having a very good time, given how they were laughing and joking amongst themselves. He thought to join them but preferred to continue with what he was doing, just overlooking things until he was interrupted by a presence coming to stand beside him and he couldn’t help but smile when he saw that the person was Echo and she smiled right back at him.

“Those two your friends are talking to are Julien and Sutton. Ambassadors of The Glowing Forest and Rockline respectively. They are quite known to be receptive to newcomers and form what I can see, your friends are seeing that first handed,” She said to him and he nodded.

“Yeah, Raven and Murphy can entertain anyone. They are quite good at the whole meeting people thing. Especially Raven,” He said to her as he crossed his arms over his chest and continued watching everyone.

“Not feeling like joining in the fun, are you?” She asked him, noticing his stance and he simply shook his head.

“I don’t think I am at the point of being leader material. Like I said to you earlier, I have a lot to learn before I can be put in that situation. Right now, I am here as security detail and that is all I will be doing for the night as is the other two guards,” He said to her and she nodded.

“Yeah, me too. I am only here as the general to make sure everything goes smoothly for my clan. The Ambassadors know how to be civil with one another, but some people in the delegation may not know how to behave, so we are here to make sure nothing too bad happens to our leaders,” She said to him and he nodded his head.

“Exactly. Besides, I don’t think they needed anyone joining in. My leaders can handle themselves better than a hundred of me combined,” He told her as he knew that to be true.

“I have seen that. Clarke _kom Skaikru_ is quite accomplished on that seeing how well she is handling dealing with the Prince of _Azgeda_ over there,” Echo said as his eyes darted to Clarke and the guy she was talking with before he looked back at Echo.

“I had no idea he was here. Does he usually come to these events?” He asked her and she chuckled shaking her head at him.

“He is participating because he is a prisoner here. For the past 5 years, he has lived here as a political prisoner for the Commander. Granted, he can walk around and isn’t kept in a cell, but still,” She explained to him and he was shocked.

“And why was he imprisoned by her? I’m assuming she had a reason for it?” He asked her and she nodded dawning her drink in one gulp.

“When my Queen kidnapped, tortured and killed the Commander’s previous lover, she sent the girl’s head to the Commander through Prince Roan in hopes that Lexa would strike or kill him and give her a reason to break the Coalition and start a war. Obviously, Lexa had more self-restraint than that and instead of killing him, kept him here as her guarantee against Nia,” Echo explained to him and he was beyond shocked.

Not only because of the reason the man talking to his friend was a political prisoner here, but with what was done to Lexa’s ex-girlfriend, he supposed that’s what she was to the Commander from what he understood to the story. But back to the point, if that happened to her, what the hell could happen to Clarke? Suddenly, he grew more worried for his friend and vowed to talk to her about it before she moved to live here with the Commander, but just before he could ask more, they heard Lexa announce that dinner was to be served immediately. Bellamy then made to move forward, but Echo stopped him.

“Only the leaders and the Ambassadors get to dine with _Heda_. The rest of us go this way,” She said to him and motioned to another door where the other members of the delegations were walking towards and so after looking at Kane and getting a nod from him, Bellamy followed Echo and the others to another room where another feast was prepared for them before he heard the door that divided the rooms closed behind him. He hoped Clarke and Kane could really handle themselves because right now they were on their own.

Meanwhile with the leaders, they surrounded the big table and were sitting down. On one hand, there was a big and beautiful chair which was obviously meant for Lexa and four chairs, two on each of her side and they were occupied by a leader and an Ambassador, respectively, starting from Gael, who always came in Luna’s place and Quentin _kom_ _Floukru_ (Boat People) on the left, followed with Kaylie and Julien _kom Trishanakru_ (Glowing Forest), Rhett and Faye _kom Sangedakru_ (Desert Clan), Jareth and Kya _kom Podakru_ (Lake People), Mao and Dala _kom Ingranronakru_ (Plain Riders) and Ray and Gage _kom Yuljedakru_ (Broadleaf) and on the other end of the table, Maya and Meagan _kom Maunon_ (Mountain Men).

Then, on the right of Lexa was Indra and Ember _kom Trikru_ (Woods Clan), followed by Norman and Sutton _kom Boudalankru_ (Rockline), then Jacy and Libby _kom Louwoda Kilronkru_ (Shallow Valley), then Vincent and Astrid _kom Delfikru_ (Delphi Clan), then Roan and Oscar _kom Azgeda_ (Ice Nation), then Phil and Torin, Melvin’s replacement, _kom Ouskejon kru_ (Blue Cliff Clan) and on the other end of the table to the right Kane and Clarke _kom Skaikru_ (Sky People) with the blonde in the direct line of sight of Lexa, which both girls were sure was a good thing.

“This dinner is to celebrate the joining of our newest clan and the beginning of a new dawn for all our people. Let’s begin,” Lexa said momentarily before they started eating. To be honest Clarke wasn’t much hungry, so she put only a little of food on her plate and ate in silence as did the others for a while. But once everyone was done and full, that was when the questions began and some were quite rude, especially the ones directed at Maya and Scott but both of them were handling it very well, trying to not be offended by what was being said.

“So, tell me, when you were eating like this in your Mountain, could you hear my people’s scream as your drained them of their blood?” Oscar, in his usual Azgeda manner, asked Maya and the tension was palpable.

“Oscar,” Lexa said to him in a tone of warning and the man turned to look at her with a fake innocent look on his face as he shrugged.

“It’s an honest question, _Heda_. One I am quite curious about as I am sure others here as curious about as well,” He said to her before turning back to look at them and everyone else on the table did as well so Clarke reached down, underneath the table and held Maya’s hand in a sign of support and the girl took a deep breath before speaking.

“No, we could not hear it. The place our leaders kept your people was far from where we ate, but there were times in which I almost believed I could hear it,” Maya answered him honestly.

“Yet your people did nothing to help them, just let them there to rot like animals,” He tried again to get a rise out of her and Clarke couldn’t hold it anymore. They guys was pushing it.

“Can I ask you a question then?” She spoke and drew attention to her as he and everyone else looked at her before he leaned back on his chair.

“Go ahead Sky Girl,” He said with a smirk on his face and she couldn’t wait to wipe it off.

“Before the Coalition, would your people have helped a prisoner on your dungeons if he had been Trikru or would you have ignored their cries for help?” She asked him and saw the smirk leave his face before she continued, “I was told the two clans were quite the rivals back in the day, so I can’t see how your people would have helped one of them if that was the situation. I guess it’s not hard to understand the decision of the Mountain People, is it Ambassador?” She said to him and waited for an answer.

“The girl is right. None of us would have. We may even have treated them worse, beaten, tortured, killed. Can’t exactly fault them for treating us like enemies when that is what we were, can we Oscar?” Sutton said to the man as he looked at everyone and Lexa looked at Clarke willing her to not look for a fight with the man, but the girl just shook her head and waited for the man to respond to that.

This was about to be good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Clans: Leaders---------Ambassadors  
> 1- Trikru: Indra Ember (Woods Clan)  
> 2-Azgeda: Roan Oscar (Ice Nation)  
> 3-Flourkru: Gael Quentin (Boat People)  
> 4-Trishanakru: Kaylie Julien (Glowing Forest)  
> 5-Sangedakru: Rhett Faye (Desert Clan)  
> 6-Podakru: Jareth Kya (Lake People)  
> 7-Louwoda KilronKru: Jace Libby (Shallow Valley)  
> 8-Ingranrona Kru: Mao Dala (Plain Riders)  
> 9-Yuljedakru: Ray Gage (Broadleaf)  
> 10-Boudalan Kru: Norman Sutton (Rockline)  
> 11-Delfikru: Vincent Astrid (Delphi Clan)  
> 12-Ouskejon Kru: Phil Torin (Blue Cliff)  
> 13-SKaikru: Kane Clarke (Sky People)  
> 14-Maunon: Maya Scott (Mountain Men)


	69. Handling things

“No, I guess not. But my people wouldn’t have bled them for our own purpose, that’s for sure,” Oscar said as he sipped his drink not liking that his strategy was not paying out the way he had planned it to. The others were not supposed to take the Mountain Men’s side, they were supposed to be taking his side. He didn’t like where this was going, at all. Roan was just sitting back watching his Ambassador dig a hole for himself and their people. He sighed as he thought to himself, **_Idiot_**.

“Enough Oscar. You will not continue to be rude to our guests any longer. Be aware that this is your last warning,” Lexa warned the man as he looked at her before looking away. This was definitely not what he was expecting it to be. His Queen would not like this at all.

“I hope you can understand child, that although you have joined us and we have welcomed you, it will take some time before we will be ready to accept you as one of us given everything your previous leaders did to our people,” Quentin spoke to them both trying to alleviate the tension that had risen and Maya and Scott nodded their heads.

“I know and I understand sir. I honestly wasn’t expecting anything less. We may have not committed the crimes ourselves, but we are the descendants of those who did and your reaction is completely understandable and deserving,” Scott answered the older man, making sure to look at everyone else at the table while he said it before Maya took over and spoke.

“Our leaders were not only cruel to your people. They were like that to our own people as well. They would kill anyone who dared to oppose them, to go against the cruelty they were doing to your people. My own mother and Scott’s parents were killed because they refused to be a part of it and receive your people’s blood,” Maya said to them.

“So, everyone of your people knew the atrocity that was being committed to ours, mine especially given that Trikru surrounds the Mountain?” Ember asked directly to her and Maya had no choice but to nod her head and answer it truthfully.

“Yes, we knew. No one liked talking about it, some didn’t even like thinking about it, but we knew what kind of treatment it was and how they were being provided. The majority of us thought it to be cruel and inhuman, but then our leaders would tell us it was the only way we could survive. At that prospect, many of us didn’t feel like they had much of a choice in the matter. The way we were presented the situation was kill or be killed,” Maya spoke.

“But your leaders should have known better than to do that to us, no? Why would they do such a thing to innocent people? Kidnap, imprison, kill, turn loved ones into monsters? Couldn’t they have found a better or more peaceful way to deal with whatever problem warranted that kind of cruel solution?” Mao from the Plain Riders asked them curiously and Kane intervened this time deciding it was time to speak out too.

“Sometimes, as leaders, we are forced to make decisions that in other situation where our people’s survival wasn’t hanging on the balance, we wouldn’t make at all. It doesn’t, in any way, excuse the atrocity committed by their leaders towards your people, but it does put some things in perspective,” He said before he had everyone’s attention and continued on his tale, “In the Ark, for example, we had limited supplies of everything. Water, food, medicine, rooms, clothes, air, especially air so we couldn’t allow too many people to live in the Ark, otherwise we would all die, slowly but die, nonetheless. So, our laws became rigid to prevent overpopulation from happening. Any crime, small or not, excusable or not, valid or not, committed by those above the age of 18 meant execution by being floated.”

“Floated? What form of punishment is that?” Faye of the Desert Clan asked them curious and this time Clarke was the one who answered.

“Being floated meant that you would be sucked into space without a protective suit. In space, there is no oxygen so the person would suffocate in last then 20 seconds and die. Their bodies would be floating in space, lost forever,” She explained.

“There weren’t given a proper burial?” Jareth of the Lake People asked them, and Clarke shook her head at his question as Kane continued with the story.

“But even that way, the Ark was still starting to get crowded, so another law was created. This law prohibited any couple from having more than one child. Those parents who defied that law were floated and the children kept in a cell until the day they turned eighteen.” He spoke.

Clarke continued, “Indra’s second, Octavia was a second child. Her mother hid her under the floor for 16 years, she was only allowed to be in their small room, never allowed to get out and when people would come in, she would have to hide until one day when the guards found her. She was imprisoned and her mother was floated,”

“My friend Murphy lost his father because when he got really sick, his dad stole more medicine to give it to him than it was allowed per person. Just over a month ago when the Ark and my people were still in the Sky, they were contemplating sacrificing over 300 hundred people to save more air for the others. And all those decisions had to be enforced by our Chancellor, a position that is now occupied by Kane,” Clarke explained.

“Those were not easy decisions made by our leaders and they felt ashamed by it, felt bad about it, but in order to ensure our people’s survival, they saw no other way and despite how barbaric it seems to kill a father for trying to save his son, truth of the matter, it was how we survived,” Kane spoke and Clarke took over as she recalled words that Jaha told her before.

“When we raided the Mountain, I had a chance to speak with their President, the one responsible for the draining of your people. He was remorseful for it, he understood how cruel and inhuman it was, but he told me that deliverance of survival to his people came at a price and as leader, it was his duty and responsibility to bear it so that his people didn’t have to and it is true. I had the same experience during the fight with Trikru after we landed,”

“I didn’t want to kill 300 of your people in a ring of fire, but when I had to choose between saving my people or letting them die, I could choose to do nothing else but what I had to in order to save my friends. Someone once told me ‘Heavy lies the crown’. The decisions we make in order to save our people just whittle us down, piece by piece and in the end, all we can do is make the best decisions we can with the information that we have and hope that there is a forgiving God,” Clarke said to them.

“You were right Kane. It doesn’t excuse what was done, but it does help us see things from their perspective and it begs the question, how many of us in their place would have acted differently? When the survival of our people, of those we swore to protect hangs in balance? When there was no good choice to make? When our people are desperate for a solution and they look up to you to provide it for them?” Lexa said to them before Clarke continued,

“At times, desperation has a way of making the unimaginable and the unforgivable a necessity,” Clarke said nodding at Lexa who returned the nod to her.

“ _Heda_ and Clarke are right. Which leader has not done things for their people they are not proud of? I guess I can’t forgive or forget, no one of us ever will, but at least we can understand and through that understanding, move forward, giving you and your people a chance to prove you are not like those cruel leaders and that you will be better than they were before,” Ember said to Maya and Scott as they nodded, in gratitude.

“That is more than we deserve but thank you. And we want you to know we are nothing like them. All we want to make a peaceful life for ourselves, without hurting anyone else and we will do whatever we can to make sure none of you regret the decision to give us that chance,” Maya said sincerely, and they nodded.

“I guess that a good of start as one can hope for, wouldn’t you agree?” Julien said to everyone as Norman raised his glass before he stood up from his seat to address everyone.

“I propose a toast. All of us here has done bad things, some of those things done to each other yet we are here now looking to a new path and a new future we shall brave together following and believing in our fierce yet fair leader, our Commander. I have seen our people in their worst moment, the moment in which we craved, we desired the chance to spill each other’s blood. To murder each other’s family, to destroy each other’s village, to wipe out each other’s clan and I, for one, am glad to be alive long enough to see this scene happening in front of me, am I right Quentin?” Norman said calling out to his fellow age companion who nodded and joined him speaking.

“This change is what many of us had hoped for a long time, but never truly dared to believe it possible. My clan is filled with war survivors, kids who lost their families in wars and the pain in their eyes and in their hearts is something I hope will continue to fade away as it has for quite some time now. I hope that we can all see the beauty in peace versus the ugliness of war and that we continue to choose this path and this future and that we keep moving forward without returning to the past,” He said and then Sutton decided to speak too.

“And more than anything, I want to toast the one person responsible for all of these wonderful changes, for this moment right now in which we are all seated together in peace, in harmony, in the spirit of brotherhood, the one who deserves our gratitude for her relentless work to bring us all here, our Commander Lexa _kom Trikru_. Without your wisdom, your strength and your compassion, we would still be lost in a sea of deaths and destruction. You have rescued us from it and have continuously shown us a better way. Thank you _Heda_ ,” He said and raised his glass as everyone stood up raising their glasses to her as well though Roan and Oscar took a bit longer to do it and she had no doubt at least one of them was not feeling said gratitude.

Lexa then took her own cup and stood up as she spoke to them. “Thank you all for your kind words, but I couldn’t have done any of this if it hadn’t been for you believing in me and following me even when you had doubts of your own. Each clan is different, has its own customs, its own clothes, its own uniqueness and that is something we need to praise, but through our differences, we are still one people and it was past time we started acting like it. I can only be glad that our work has paid off and I hope we can continue on this journey and only improve. I thank you all for your trust and promise to keep doing what is best for our people. Cheers to us,” She said, and everyone cheered clinking their glasses.

The dinner ended after that and each delegation ended up saying goodbye as maids came to take them to their designated quarters. Lexa had to stay until the very end, greeting every single one of them. The Skaikru was one of the first ones to say goodbye and Clarke gave Raven the heads-up, which meant that if the others found out she wasn’t in her room that the mechanic was to come up with a lie, as they each got into their rooms. The mechanic understood and gave her the thumbs up. So, after half an hour, she took the stairwell and climbed two floors until she came to that of Lexa’s room. She was momentarily surprised to find two guards at the door of the stairwell, but she understood the need for security.

She was thinking about how to explain her presence so they would let her through, but it turned out to be unnecessary given how they step aside letting her pass without so much as looking at her. Then she realized, Lexa must have warned them as well about Clarke’s clearance to come and go from her quarters as she pleases and somehow that warmed her heart as she walked all the way to the door of the room, receiving the same treatment from the guards stationed there. Without any problem, she opened the door and entered the room.

It was lit up by candles, the way Lexa liked which made the blonde smile. She then decided that she needed a bath and as she walked in the direction of the bathroom, she saw clothes neatly organized on the brunette’s bed and immediately she knew they were for her, she picked up and it was a large t-shirt and some shorts and it smelled like Lexa, she loved it. She grabbed it and took it with her as she went to the bathroom. She decided not to use the bathtub in favor of a quicker shower, given how tired she was from the trip and all.

She quickly took a shower, used the flower aroma soap Lexa had and wash everything, especially her hair, Clarke couldn’t help the moan that escaped her at the feel of being so clean, she was in love with Lexa’s bathroom. But quickly enough she finished and got out, she dried herself and put on the clothes, dried her hair, brushed her teeth and the feel of the smell of mint coming from her mouth almost made her cry. She then walked back to the room and got into bed, the right side since she knew Lexa preferred the left side, when Clarke was with her for protection since it was closer to the door and laid down as she waited for the brunette.

It was much later when Lexa finally entered her room and couldn’t help the swell in her heart as she saw Clarke sleeping in her bed. That was exactly the kind of vision she wanted to have every day after coming back from work, the sight of Clarke in their bed, in their room, in their home. The very silently, Lexa walked past the blonde and went to take a bath herself, taking much less time than she suspected Clarke did and in about half an hour, she was ready for bed, wearing a sleeveless shirt and some cotton pants.

Lexa then put down some candles around the room, dimming their lights, favoring the moonlight to illuminate the room before she walked back to her side of the bed and pulled back the covers, slipping in it. Clarke was lying on her back and the movement Lexa made momentarily woke her up as her eyes opened and looked at the girl, the smile that came shortly after made Lexa fall in love with the blonde much more and she couldn’t help but to lean down to plant a kiss on the blonde’s mouth before pulling back.

“You took too long to get back,” Clarke said sleepily, and Lexa smiled at her thinking how cute the blonde was in this moment.

“I know, I’m sorry. It’s late, let’s go to sleep,” Lexa said and Clarke nodded before she turned and pulled one of Lexa’s arm to use as pillow for her head and pulled the other to wrap around her waist as the brunette turned into the big spoon.

“ _Reshop Heda. Ai hod yu in_ ,” Clarke said in Trigedasleng as she sighed in relief and Lexa couldn’t help the smile from forming on her face.

“Good night, Ambassador. I love you too,” Lexa said and heard a light chuckle from the blonde before she adjusted herself better pulling Clarke even closer and placed a kiss on the blonde’s neck before closing her eyes and following her love into sleep.


	70. Heart to You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys thank you so much for the comments and for achieving the goal!!!!!!! It was amazing Reading your thoughts about the story and where you think it is going. I had so much fun, but I have to say you're cold. kkkkkkkkkk  
> Anyway, I just wanted to thank you once again for the support. I love you guys.  
> So without further ado, here is chapter 70.  
> Enjoy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The sun was only starting to rise in the sky when Lexa began to wake up and immediately, the feel of someone’s back pressed to her front was a welcomed surprised, especially as she already knew whose body that belonged to. But, the confirmation of it when she opened her eyes and saw blonde hair all up on her face, Lexa couldn’t help the huge smile that came on her face and the tiny squeeze she gave on Clarke’s waist. This was exactly what she had dreamed of ever since the first kiss she shared with Clarke, actually since the moment she realized that she had deep feelings for the blonde and what she thought she would never have after her betrayal in the Mountain.

Yet here they were, after all the obstacles they faced together, after Lexa’s death, after the destruction of their world as they knew, they somehow weren’t done with one another and were given a second chance to have this and to also fix everything that went wrong and that was exactly what they were doing and succeeding and Lexa couldn’t be happier. Although the fact that their relationship still has to be a secret is not something she likes because that means she can’t be open on her affection with Clarke but for now, it’s important for the blonde’s protection and for that Lexa can handle the secrecy ten thousand times over.

“You’re thinking so hard I can actually hear you babe,” Lexa was a little bit startled by Clarke’s hoarse voice as she spoke up and Lexa couldn’t help but to kiss the blonde’s exposed neck.

“And if you can hear my thoughts, what was I thinking about this time, my love?” Lexa asked her girlfriend and Clarke answered with her eyes still closed.

“That you don’t like that our relationship is still a secret but since it’s for my protection because of your enemies, you don’t mind keeping it a secret,” Clarke answered her promptly, and Lexa smiled at the blonde.

“Accurate as usual. This new feat we seem to share can be quite handy in the long term and with our work, can it not?” Lexa said to her and Clarke nodded as she gripped Lexa’s hand on her stomach and intertwined their hands.

“Now, why don’t you close those beautiful green eyes of yours that I love so much and go back to sleep? It’s still very early babe. You can have a few more hours of rest, you worked hard yesterday for the summit and most likely this whole week to get the Ambassadors to agree to do it in the first place,” Clarke said while her concern for Lexa warmed the brunette’s heart.

“I would love to go back to sleep and have some more rest and I would love to let you have that too, but I have plans for us that involves waking up right now and using every single minute we have before it is time for you to return to Arkadia so wake up sleepyhead,” Lexa said as she started planting kisses on Clarke’s neck, not taking long for the blonde to react to it moaning at the fell of Lexa’s lips and tongue doing things on her pulse point and she then turned to lie on her back as Lexa climbed on top of her as she settles in between Clarke’s legs.

“What kind of plans? Because if any of them involve staying in bed all day having mind-blowing sex, you can definitely count me in,” Clarke said smirking and they both chuckled at that.

“That is a really good idea and I can’t wait for when you move here because that will be our reality, but I wanted to do something different for you today. Something to celebrate everything we accomplished, especially the summit,” Lexa told her as Clarke looked at her girlfriend and nodded her head.

“Okay, let’s go then,” Clarke agreed and Lexa moved off of her so they could get up and although they didn’t stay in bed, that didn’t stop them from having mind-blowing sex in the shower and once they were dried, Clarke got dressed on the same clothes she had the day before, only now they were clean and Lexa dressed down from her Commander look, choosing to go for a simple grey shirt, black pants, black ankle boots and a rugged looking leather jacket and a messy ponytail. Clarke thought she looked amazing and she really did.

Once both of them were ready, they walked out of the room and Gustus was waiting for them outside, as always. Given he was Lexa’s bodyguard and someone she trusted, it didn’t surprise Clarke when he followed them into the elevator, she had her suspicions that wherever they were going that Gustus would be accompanying them as well. What did surprise her was Lexa wrapping an arm around her shoulder and kissing her cheek, Clarke responded by wrapping her arm around the girl’s waist and smiling but she was surprised. She did not expect the brunette to be open about her affections with the man beside her and it was like Lexa could see the question in her eyes because she chuckled.

“Gustus knows. Or better yet, he guessed after he saw you enter my room last night. There is no reason to keep it a secret in front of him. He is actually happy for us, aren’t you Gustus?” Lexa said as both girls turned to the man who had a stoic face.

“My initial warning still stands though, Sky Girl,” He warned her, and Clarke understood the message loud and clear. He was giving her the shovel talk.

“What warning are you talking about?” Lexa asked feeling like she was missing out on the joke between her girlfriend and her Uncle slash bodyguard.

“When I was summoned to meet you for the first time, before I entered the tent, he told me that if I looked at you the wrong way, he would slit my throat. I guess now the warning would be if I hurt you, he will slit my throat,” Clarke explained her and the man nodded.

“That would be correct. Glad we have an understanding when it comes to that at least,” he said to her and she smiled at him as Lexa shook her head at both of them.

“No matter, I want you both to be nice to each other. You’re both my family and I don’t want you to fight so even if you don’t like each other, at least respect each other. Understood?” She said to them and both of them nodded at her as the elevator stopped and the doors opened. Lexa pulled back from Clarke only so she could hold the blonde’s hands and pull her towards the stair well. Clarke was looking around confused as to where the hell Lexa was taking her?

“Babe, where are we going?” Clarke asked as the couple and Gustus walked down the stairs. She had spent some time at the tower but she in no way knew the ins and outs so she was a bit lost and Lexa only squeezed her hand.

“Have patience. We need to go this way to get away without anyone seeing us,” Lexa said as they entered a hidden door on the wall almost like a tunnel. They had to crunch down which made Clarke wonder how the big man would fit in here and as she looked behind her, she didn’t see him but given how dark it was, she wouldn’t have seen him if he was in front of her. She had no idea how Lexa could know where they were going in this darkness and she asked the girl that, receiving a chuckle as answer.

“Clarke, I lived here all my life. I know this city and this towel like the back of my hand. I can go anywhere without having to look where I am going. Trust me, I know exactly where we are and Gustus will meet us there,” Lexa said and Clarke nodded and simply continued to follow her.

Until they finally saw some light and Clarke knew they had come to the end of the tunnel and as opened the small door and walked out once Clarke did it too and her eyes adjusted to the brightness, she was mesmerized by the beauty of where they were. It looked like a kind of Mountain and it had a view of the city and off the tower, with trees around them. It was one of the most beautiful views Clarke had seen so far and she was in awe of it as Lexa came to stand beside her and watched her watch the view both with a smile on their faces.

“Where is this place? Where are we?” Clarke asked her girlfriend and Lexa smiled as she held Clarke’s hand and pulled her closer to her intertwining their fingers as Clarke gripped her arm.

“This is the training ground for the nightbloods. Here is where we spend most of our time, learning and practicing. It is a sacred ground. No one but the Flamekeeper is allowed up here if they do not have night blood,” Lexa said and Clarke looked at her.

“I don’t have nightblood anymore. I shouldn’t be here then,” She said and Lexa smiled before nodding her head to Clarke as she pulled their hands up to her lips and kissed the back of the blonde’s hand inciting a smile to form on the sky girl’s lips.

“Yes, you don’t have it, but nothing bad will happen if you are here so relax. The Flame keeper is the one who enforces that, not allowing even the guards unless it’s an emergency but it’s okay. You are my guest and I say you can be here. That’s final,” Lexa said and Clarke smiled as she leaned forward and kissed the girl before pulling back.

“Well I feel honored but why exactly did you choose to bring me here?” Clarke asked and Lexa smiled at her before pecking her lips.

“Because here I knew we would have the privacy to officially have our first date,” Lexa said and motioned with her head for Clarke to look behind them and as the blonde did it, she could see a blanket spread out of the floor with food on it and that was when she realized they were here to have picnic together and she couldn’t help the flood of emotion that came right up and felt herself tearing up before she turned to look at the brunette.

“You did all of this?” Clarke asked and Lexa smiled as she pulled the girl down from where they were to go towards the blanket and nodded.

“Well, a few days ago, you left your radio with Raven so I called and asked her for an advice on what I could do, she gave me this suggestion and I immediately knew where we could be alone to enjoy our first date so I talked with Gustus and Nadia and they helped me prepare this whole thing for you. Did you like it?” Lexa explained and as Clarke looked at her, she could see that the brunette girl was nervous as she waited for the blonde to give her and answer and so Clarke stepped forward, circling her arms around the brunette’s waist as she kissed her deeply. Lexa did the same, wrapping her arms around the blonde before kissing her back, both getting lost in each other for a while before pulling back.

“If I like it? I love it. But more importantly, I love you so, so, so much. You are the sweetest, most caring and loving girlfriend I could have asked for. I don’t deserve all of this. I definitely don’t deserve you or your love,” Clarke said and Lexa shook her head.

“Yes, you do. You are amazing, Clarke. I don’t think you know how much you inspire people, how much you have helped everyone around, how much you have helped me be a better person since we met. Remember how set I was on the whole ‘Love is weakness’ thing? You proved me wrong. You showed me that Love can never be a weakness. It can be painful when ripped from you but it is never weakness, it’s strength. Because ever since I fell in love with you, ever since I met you, I have never felt stronger,” She said before she continued.

“After Costia died, I tried so hard to bury my heart to protect myself from the pain. I buried it so deep inside of me that I admit it came to a point where I almost afraid I never had one in the first place but one minute with you when we first met and there it was. I could feel it beating as if it wanted to rip itself off of my chest and go to you and it has been that way since then. I was feeling so disconnected from the world, trying to distance myself from everyone. I pushed Anya away because I thought it would be easier for me when I lost her but it wasn’t and I only had regret for not being there and for treating her the way I did and it was meeting you that showed me I was making a huge mistake,”

“I was lost but you found me. You found me and you reminded me of what was in here,” She said as she pulled Clarke’s hand and put it against her chest where her heart was beating fast, “I built some many walls in here, but all it took was one look for you to make them disappear and be able to see every single part of me. You saw the good and you saw the bad, the light and the dark and yet you still believed I deserved more than to just survive, you believed that I deserved to live. You made me love you like I never loved anyone else in my life and never will. You are everything to me, Clarke,” Lexa said as she moved to wipe the tears that were freely following down the blonde’s face as Clarke cupped her face and brought their lips together.

The kiss wasn’t passionate and it wasn’t sweet. The only word to describe it is intense. An intense kiss, no because of the lust or the need but because it held everything they felt for each other, as if they could make the other feel what they felt through the kiss. It wasn’t just a touch of lips. It was a touch of souls and it was breath taking at its intensity and with all that it meant for both of them to be there in each other’s arms. Unfortunately, air was a necessity so they had no choice but to pull back and Clarke was going to speak however, Lexa shushed her.

“I know. I know,” And she really did. She didn’t need to hear a heartfelt speech from the blonde to know how she felt. The whole situation of them being back to the past and the kiss they just shared and every single moment they have spent together, every touch, every hug, every look, it was all a testament to her feelings and Lexa had felt it, very time she had felt it. There was no need for words. She knew.

“How about we start eating after all, that is what a picnic is for, isn’t it?” Lexa said and Clarke nodded, letting herself being pulled by the girl still digesting the beauty that was Lexa. Whether it was her heart, her mind, her body or her soul, to Clarke it was all beautiful, she was a beautiful person inside and outside and as they sat down on the blanket and the brunette made jokes to see her smile, Clarke promised herself that if she couldn’t do nothing else in this world, she would at least make Lexa happy for the rest of their lives.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you guys like this fluff? I know I did, especially when I was writing, the elevator scene between Clarke, Lexa and Gustus was so fun to write, I hope you guys enjoyed it.  
> Now, I want to see if we can get to 425 comments. Once we do, I will post the next two chapters and give you a bit of a spoiler. So, in the comments, I want you to tell me one thing you think it is going to happen and one thing you want to know about what will happen. The first one I will either confirm or deny, if you get it right or wrong and the second I will choose one of the answers to reveal in the next chapter, so comment if you want to know.  
> Kisses, Kisses,  
> Your AUthor


	71. Opening Up

Lexa and Clarke had an amazing time eating the food that was brought for the picnic, everything was delicious and they had a wonderful time together, joking and playing around throwing grapes in each other’s mouth. It was the best first date either one of them ever had but now after having so much fun they were simply enjoying the view and each other. Clarke was sitting down with her back to the tree and Lexa was laying down with her head on the blonde’s lap as Clarke run her hand through her hair as they talked about everything.

“So let me get this straight, Gustus is not just your bodyguard, he is also your uncle?” Clarke asked her and Lexa nodded as she played with Clarke’s other hand.

“Yes, he married my Aunt Nadia, she’s my mom’s older sister. They both already lived here in Polis when I was born. Gustus was always a part of the Commander’s royal guard and my Aunt works in the kitchen to this day, so when it was time for me to come here, they took it upon themselves to take care of me as much as it was allowed and when I became Commander, I made Gustus my bodyguard,” Lexa explained and Clarke nodded before turning somber.

“It must have been much, much harder for you to kill him than any of us have thought,” She spoke and Lexa took a deep breath, nodding her head. It was definitely one of the things she was glad they changed. She really didn’t want to kill the man again.

“Yes, it was. But my mother used to tell me that justice starts from our home. If I can’t be fair with my family, how can anyone trust me to be fair to theirs? When we arrived in TonDC, that guy had tried to attack your people, so I had Gustus beat him and warned the people that were there that anyone who tried anything would pay with their lives. After he tried to destroy the alliance, framed your people for it, how could I not take his life? The people would have called me weak, would stop believing and trusting in me and a leader who doesn’t have the trust and the belief of their people has nothing,” Lexa explained, and Clarke sighed.

“I guess that was one of the reason I was not a good leader last time. I did the opposite of that. I would punish everyone else for their mistakes, but never my own people or my friends, even if the crimes they committed were far worse than that. Bellamy and Finn are the primary examples of that,” Clarke said as Lexa looked up at her as she listened to the blonde.

“When I saw Finn and what he had done in the village, I was disgusted but more than that I was scared of him. I actually told him I didn’t know who he was anymore, that I didn’t recognize him. That person, that was not the Finn I knew or cared about. The Finn I knew was a pacifist, a peacemaker, someone who would search for the man who stabbed him to try and create a truce between our people. The person at the village, that was nothing like the Finn I knew but despite that, the thought of him facing your people’s punishment was unthinkable,”

“To simply give him up so you could kill him, how could I have done that? I couldn’t. Not just because I cared about him but I felt guilty about it. He was looking for me, for all our friends but especially for me. What he had done, he had done for me, to find me, to save me. It was like it was my fault he had lost it and murdered those people. Raven felt that way, Murphy outright told me that, even my mom hinted at it and I felt that way too which is why I tried to trade myself for him,” Clarke said and Lexa then sat up and moved to sit beside the girl as she held Clarke’s hand bringing their intertwined fingers to rest on her lap.

“And with Bellamy? Oh my God. That was… I… I failed him. He was there for me at one of the hardest moments for me. He pulled the lever with me so we could share the burden of that decision so that I wouldn’t do it alone and how did I repay him? By leaving him and everyone behind, by letting him deal with the aftermath by himself. I took it harder than he did, obviously but it didn’t cross my mind that what we did broke him as well and that me leaving him behind broke him even more,” Clarke said as she squeezed Lexa’s hand, the brunette squeezed it back offering her a silent comfort, seeing her need to speak about it.

“He begged me to stay but I ran like a coward and it didn’t work. I ran telling myself I needed to go but it didn’t help. I wasn’t better off alone in the middle of nowhere. What I wanted was penance for my sins and I was selfish. My mother, Raven, my friends, Bellamy, my people, they all needed me there and I wasn’t. When Nia attacked our people in Mount Weather, he asked me to come with him but I chose to stay, not only because I thought it was best I stayed to make sure you wouldn’t betray us again but also because I didn’t want to leave you again, not when things were starting to feel okay again, that was the last straw for him,”

“I couldn’t help but think that I should have been a better, if I had been he wouldn’t have followed someone like Pike, he wouldn’t have massacre 300 innocent people, wouldn’t have pushed for a war with you and your people, he wouldn’t have betrayed his friends, his sister. When I talked to him, he broke and I could see my part in that and I couldn’t help but feel guilty. And when I had to go back to your tent the thought that what was decided then could mean his death, I couldn’t let it happen. I had failed to save Finn and lost him. I couldn’t lose Bellamy too. I just couldn’t,” Clarke said as Lexa silently wiped a tear that fell.

“But when I asked for you to forgive him, I never, ever, ever thought that I would put you in danger. You always seemed so endless, so immortal, so untouchable, so infinite. In my head, nothing could take you down, almost like you were not even human at all, like you didn’t bleed so it didn’t even register to me that your life could be in danger because of that decision, the decision I pushed for you to make. And yes, I know you made that choice because you believed in what I said, but even you can’t deny that the fact that you are in love with me pushed you towards it either,” Clarke said as she looked at her and Lexa only nodded. It was true.

“Titus may have shot you and I will never forgive him for it. Even if you weren’t the target, he had no place in making decisions for you especially not about your own life, but me, Bellamy and Pike, all contributed for that moment to come true. If Bellamy hadn’t helped Pike take power of my people, if Pike hadn’t done what he did to yours, if I hadn’t pushed for you to show mercy, he wouldn’t have felt the need to kill me to try and protect you. So in a way, I am responsible for you dying last time at least,”

“What Bellamy and Finn did to your people was unforgivable, cruel, inhuman, cowardly and every other name you want to call it. It was and I know that. I know that whatever punishment came or should have come their way, they would have earned it ten times over and I know I was wrong to try to protect them from justice after what they did, that I should have been more like you, just and fair no matter how much I cared about them but I couldn’t shake off the feeling that I was responsible for it. I pushed my Dad to publish the video instead of stopping him like I did this time and he died because of it. I didn’t want that to happen to anyone else I cared for, not Finn, not Wells, not my mom, not Raven, especially not you but that is exactly what it happened. I failed all of you,” Clarke said.

Lexa wrapped her arms around the girl pulling her to lean against her body and Clarke readily did so, feeling safe and protected. “You didn’t fail us in any way. You made mistakes, yes. Mistakes that you wouldn’t do today after what you have learned but remember that no one is perfect Clarke. I am sure I am not, but what matters is that we strive to be the best we can be and hope it will be enough,” Lexa said as Clarke hugged her girlfriend and felt the warmth and the comfort coming from being surrounded by Lexa’s warm and loving embrace.

“It was easier for me to be fair and just because that was how I was raised to be from a very young age since I was always prepared to be a leader one day, but it is not easy to punish someone you care for, someone you love. It is fifty times harder, and it takes much more out of you to do it than it would if you were punishing a stranger, but I was taught to do it, you weren’t. You weren’t raised to be a leader, Clarke. You are a natural one but you, how do you sky people say it? You wing it? Is that right?” Lexa said smiling and Clarke chuckled nodding.

“You wing it as best you can. You were not taught all your life that when you rose to power you would have to decide who lived and who died. That you would have thousands of people counting on you to lead them. You never even thought that you would be living here on Earth. You thought you would live all your life up in the Sky inside your Ark, become a healer like your mom, marry someone, have one kid and die. That is what you prepared yourself for,” Lexa explained, and Clarke could nod because it was the truth. Nothing that happened since she found out about the glitch was what she had thought her life would be.

“Then, suddenly you were thrust in an impossible situation, having to lead and take care of 100 rebellious and inconsequential kids in an unknown world with dangers awaiting for you at every corner and you talent for leadership shone through, in its brute form but it was there nonetheless. Your intelligence and your strength to do what is necessary for your people made them trust you and more than anything made them need you so badly that they didn’t know how to be without you ordering them around, like a kid whose parents don’t prepare him to live by himself one day,” Clarke snuggled closer to her girlfriend.

“It made them dependable on you which was something I noticed. They need you but they disapprove of your methods, of your choices when the only reason they were alive in the first place was because you made them anyway, or at least that is what they did last time. They berated you for what you did at the Mountain, but they were only alive to complain about because you sacrificed a part of your soul to save them from a terrible fate. They took from you. They took and they took and when suddenly you weren’t there anymore for that, they were lost and turned to the first one who offered them the safety that you did. Bellamy went with Pike, Raven went with A.L.I.E and so on,” Lexa continued.

“And the mess they made with my people came from their incapacity to think before they act, to weigh the situation and choose the best course of action. It came from their failure to be more like you, which is understandable, not everyone is cut out for the life of a leader, for the life you undoubtedly lead yourself. But, one thing is crystal clear, their mistakes are not your fault, just like Titus’ isn’t mine, neither is Gustus’. They are all grown people who can make their own decisions and handle the warranted consequences. Your mistake perhaps was coddling them too much?” Lexa said not wanting to offend the blonde but the last person who would say and offend Clarke was the brunette and Clarke knew that, so she only nodded.

“Sometimes we think protecting those we care about from their mistakes is the best we can do for them, but most times, it is the exactly opposite. We enable them. A smart person learnt from their mistakes, but a wise person learns from the mistakes of others. However, in the end, the mistakes we make and the price we pay for them are what prompts us to learn valuable lessons. You need to let them be grown-ups and deal with their problems like grown-ups, Clarke. You shouldn’t always protect them, or else they will never learn and will continue to commit the same mistakes because they will think you will be there fix it so they don’t have to pay for them as they should,” Lexa spoke as she caressed Clarke’s arm and kissed her head.

“That is why the three pillars of being a Commander are Wisdom, Compassion and Strength. All leaders need all three of them to be good leaders. We need the Strength to protect our people from our enemies and to punish the criminals. We need the Compassion to understand our people, to help them with their pain and their needs, to show mercy for those who need but most importantly, a leader, a Commander needs the Wisdom to know when to show Strength and when to show Compassion,” Clarke pulled back to look at her.

“Some people are born great, like me. Some people achieve greatness, like Octavia but some people have greatness thrust upon them, like you Clarke. You are born for this, to be a leader. You may not be as prepared for this job, for this life as you would have been if you were born here but the talent for it is there. You are afraid of that, afraid of those you might lose if you assert yourself as such, afraid of what you will have to do, afraid of failing, of not being good enough but you can’t let those fears rule you. I have seen you in action. You are amazing and you need to take this power, this greatness given to you and absorb it. Make it your own and then things may not be okay but they will be better,” Lexa said to her and Clarke smiled.

“You know me better than I know myself,” Clarke said, and Lexa smiled before leaning down to kiss the girl, slowly, sweetly as they enjoyed the feeling of being together like that before something came up to Lexa’s mind.

“Clarke, there is some place I think we need to go before you leave Polis,” Lexa said seriously and noticing the change in the tone of her voice, the blonde got worried.

“What is going on?” Clarke asked her, worriedly and Lexa took a deep breath before she started to explain to her girlfriend what is going on.

“Here in Polis, there is an old woman named Joanna, who is a Seer. She can see things that others cannot or that can’t be explained rationally. I consulted with her many years ago and her predications turned true and after that night where we both woke up from my nightmares, I went to talk to her. She said she had answers for questions I asked her but that she could only give them if the two of us went to see her together. I really think we need to go to her house and talk to her Clarke,” Lexa said seriously.

Clarke thought about what she was saying. She wasn’t one to believe in that kind of things, but she has time-traveled, so she wasn’t exactly dismissing the possibility and it seemed that it was really important to Lexa, so she decided to do it, even if only for her girlfriend.

“Okay, if you say it’s important, then we can go,” Clarke agreed, and Lexa nodded before they got up. Lexa explained that someone would come and get the things so they simply worrying in leaving there. Lexa briefly explained to Gustus where she was going and dismissed him. He wasn’t happy about it, but he knew what it meant, so he relented. Lexa then swiftly guided them through the city before they came to a stop in front of a door and before they knocked once again, the woman had already opened the door and was looking at them.

“Hello Lexa, Clarke. Please, come in. We have much to talk about.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, last chapter's challenge is still on, so if you guys want to do it, feel free and leave your comments on this chapter.   
> Kisses, Kisses,  
> Your AUthor.


	72. Past, Present and Future

“Hello, Joanna,” Lexa said greeting the woman, while she held tightly onto Clarke’s hand, noticing how nervous the blonde was. The older woman simply walked inside her house, leaving the couple standing outside. Lexa tugged Clarke’s hand and they got inside, the door closing itself before they came to sit in front of her at her couch.

“I see you’ve heeded my advice and have brought the other half to see me,” Joanna said as she looked up, her eyes never focusing on them.

“Is she…” Clarke asked Lexa, never letting go of her hand and before the brunette could answer, the older woman spoke.

“I am blind to what you see, child. Just as you are blind to what I see,” Joanna said with a small smile on her face and Lexa mirrored hers, squeezing Clarke’s hand she held in hers in comfort as the blonde tried to relax.

“When I came to see Joanna, she told me that the Powers That Be went through all the trouble of sending us back to undo my death, in particular. So, I asked her why me? What was important about me that would make them do this to prevent my death? She told me that alone, I wasn’t important but together with you, we were crucial. And that there were questions she could only answer with you here as well,” Lexa briefly explained to her.

“And what does that mean exactly?” Clarke asked, trying to wrap her mind around what she was hearing from her girlfriend.

“From the beginning of the world, the universe has always needed a balance and that came in form of the four elements. Water, Fire, Air and Earth. Each element brings a good and a bad thing to us. Water gives life but it can also take life. Fire warms and burn us and so on. But there is a Fifth element most people don’t pay attention to and that element is Ether, or more commonly referred as the spiritual element,” Joanna started as the couple paid attention.

“Lexa, you represent Air and Fire. You are the head, the ground. You can easily detach from mundane living and apply yourself to what needs to be done with the full force of fire's energy. Air mediates Fire's somewhat scattered tendencies by channeling them through logic, so that while you may be working on any of a number of things, all with full energy and force of will, it is in a reasonable progression, and nothing important will get left behind. While you are not necessarily deeply involved with the physical world, more often applying your force of will to the mental, you are generally practical, because leaving things be that have to be dealt with will only cause problems later,” She said and Lexa knew that her words were true.

“Clarke, you represent Earth and Water. You are the heart. Earth and Water in combination leads to someone who is very in touch with their emotional side. Without any of the distancing possible from the light elements, this personality is easily drawn into the sensual, the exotic, and the new. While Earth does mitigate some of Water's tendencies towards mutability, this combination is still somewhat unpredictable, particularly if Water edges out Earth as the dominant force. The combination of deep-felt emotion and links to the senses makes this person very tied to the world as it is, as well as its experiences, which makes you someone who experiences things far deeper than maybe even yourself are aware of,” Joanna said.

“When the four elements are together, things may be a little too much, so they need an anchor. Something they can use to ground all four together, create the perfect balance and in that comes, Ether. It is the perfect mediator for all four elements and in your case, Ether is represented by your love for each other. Your love mediates both your personality to create the perfect tune between the two of you and that is the reason why the Powers That Be went to all the trouble to fix your death, Lexa. If you were to lose one another, death would come to us all,” Joanna explained about them and they could see the truth in her words.

“But how? Why are we so important to the universe? Why us Joanna?” Lexa was the one to ask her the question.

“Becca Pramheda explained the concept of markers to you, didn’t she Clarke?” The Seer asked and Clarke was shocked to hear what she was saying.

“How do you know that?” She asked the woman who simply smiled at her.

“It doesn’t matter child. Tell me, did she or did she not? And if she did, tell me what it is,” Joanna instructed so Clarke took a deep breath and spoke.

“A marker is an event in the timeline that cannot be changed, otherwise it will bring catastrophic consequences,” Clarke answered.

“And there you have your answer Lexa. You and Clarke being together, in love is the most important marker there is to any timeline,” the woman said as the couple looked at each other in shock before she continued, “Clarke, you lived in the Sky while you Lexa lived in the ground. Did any of you ever ask yourself why, with such a distance between the two of you, you are here now together? Why the glitch on the Ark happened when you went to prison Clarke? Why you became Commander at such a young age Lexa?”

“Everything that happened in your lives, happened to bring the two of you here, in this moment. This is not the first life you two have lived together. You are what we call the Divine Pair. One cannot fully live without the other. Surely, you did before you met but tell me, didn’t you both felt like something huge was missing from your life? Like you were incomplete? Like you could never be truly happy because there was something that wasn’t there, and you needed it to be complete?” She asked and both of them nodded their heads.

“And didn’t you feel complete and fully happy after you met each other and fell in love?” They nodded again, “You two are more than soulmates. You are twin flames,” Joanna told them.

“What is a twin flame?” Lexa asked her, curious about what the woman would tell them.

“A twin flame is the other half of your soul. It is theorized that a soul can split into two after ascending to a high frequency. Thereafter, the soul lands in two different bodies. If you have a twin flame, you are fated to meet this person at some point in your life journey. The two of you will be pulled together like magnets. You will know when you’ve connected with this person because you’ll immediately experience a sense of recognition. Many people describe an uncanny sense of having known their twin flame all their lives. When you encounter the person who carries the other half of your energy, it can create a profound and life-altering sense of wholeness inside of you. Your relationship will naturally be extremely intense because twin flames are mirrors of one another. This person will not only provide a sense of wholeness; they will also elevate your self-knowledge, including knowledge of your flaws. Consequently, there’s a potential for conflict as well as happiness.”

“There are 7 stages for Twin Flames. The first one is the Search. And involves a strong sense of yearning and an acute awareness that something is lacking in your life. The search stage is also partly about preparing your life for the incoming arrival of your twin flame, even though you may not know why you are doing this. The Coalition is the result of that. Can you imagine what would have happened to the Sky People when they arrived here on this planet, on this land if there was no peace between the clans, Lexa?” Joanna started explaining.

“They would have been decimated within the first day of being here,” Lexa answered, shuddering to even consider that possibility.

“The second stage is the Awakening. This stage is where you physically meet, and the awareness of your compatibility hits you right away. This will often be a chance encounter that is full of coincidences and little signs that your meeting was destined to take place. Even brief contact is enough to make you aware that something special is happening. Regardless of how you meet, you will be shaken by the intensity of the bond you feel. You may feel intoxicated by it and find that all of your waking moments are occupied by thoughts of this person. Isn’t that how you felt Clarke, even after the event of the Mountain?” Joanna asked.

“Yes, at first, it felt like I knew Lexa already and then, no matter how much I tried I couldn’t shake it off any thoughts of her, which were many,” Clarke said as she looked at the brunette sitting beside her as Lexa squeezed her hand and she squeezed right back.

“The third stage is the Test. It is all about establishing boundaries, testing your limitations, and moving past the purely blissful experience of initially falling in love. it is at this point that you will negotiate what your future will look like and will begin to notice what may constitute obstacles to that future. Although you are destined to know and love each other, you will still engage in conflicts, in the same way that before you met your twin flame, you engaged in conflict with other parts of yourself. Whether and how you resolve these conflicts, will define whether you’ll be able to stay together,” She continued.

“How we are able to push each other’s limits, break down each other’s walls and know each other in a way nobody else can,” Lexa provided, and Joanna nodded.

“The fourth stage is the Crisis. While twin flame love can be euphoric, it also inevitably involves a crisis stage. While this is often unpleasant, the good news is that it can also catalyze a deeper, more stable bond in the longer term. This stage involves significant anxiety and worries about your bond with your twin flame, and the crisis can be just about anything. It may be related to grief, betrayal, struggles with self-love or any number of other things that put pressure on your connection with your twin flame,” Joanna informed.

“What happened in the Mountain the first time. You leaving, me killing everyone inside,” Clarke said as she scooted closer to Lexa wrapping her other arm around the arm of the hand Lexa was holding.

“The fifth stage is the Running or Chasing stage. No matter what form the crisis stage takes, it is always followed by a running or chasing stage. You may be in either role, and you and your twin flame may switch back and forth between the two roles. This stage revolves around one twin flame distancing themselves, often out of fear of confronting the level of intimacy that the two of you are capable of experiencing. The twin in this role will be in pain and will feel very defensive and resistant. Meanwhile, the other twin flame will give chase, believing that the bond is worth fighting for and working on. This stage can only end up when the running twin stops trying to get away, and the chasing twin stops trying to push. Often, the end of this stage is characterized by both twin flames realizing that there are forces at work beyond their control,” Joanna told them.

“This is from when you came to Polis, after those three months when I sent Roan after you to bring you to me. You were running and I was chasing,” Lexa said looking at Clarke who nodded.

“But before the Mountain, you were the one who was closed off and I was the one trying to get you to feel things, so I guess back then, you were running and I was chasing,” Clarke spoke.

“The sixth stage is the Surrender. In this context, surrendering isn’t about giving up on your connection, but rather about accepting that neither of you can escape from destiny. This can be a positive realization that releases you both from past anxieties and allows you to better live in the moment, trusting that the universe will lead you to where you need to go.”

“After your fight with Roan, I was so worried that I knew I had forgiven you before you even picked up your sword. But I only let you truly see that on the days after we came back from the massacre and before your death,” Clarke spoke.

“I surrendered to you when you questioned me on my feelings the day we kissed and I told you I cared about you, even if not directly using those words,” Lexa told her girlfriend.

“And the last stage is the Reunion and Joining. When you and your twin flame move on to the reunion stage, you’ll have a sense of relief at the fact that balance is being restored. In going through the previous, challenging stages, you’ll have learned a lot about yourselves and about the potential attached to the unique kind of love you have found. For some twin flames, this reunion will be physical in nature. For example, the two of you may finally come back to the same place, agreeing to share a home, or finally physically consummating your bond,” Joanna said and both girls didn’t voice what they recognized to be that moment.

Joanna continued, “Irrespective of the particular form the reunion takes, it carries with it a sense of peace, acceptance and reciprocal understanding. If you can weather the more tumultuous parts of your journey, twin flame energy inevitably leads both parties to this joining stage. After the reunion, the hard work is over; all you need to do now is live, enjoying the sense of completeness that can only be found in each other’s companionship, which is the stage you are now.”

“So, we can see that you are right. Clarke and I are twin flames. What does that mean for our people, for the future for the world?” Lexa asked the woman.

“It means only if the two of you are together through love, do we have a chance at a future of peace, of happiness, of acceptance, of everything you dream for our people. It means we will have a chance at a future. Period. Without you two, or without one of you, the world as we know will burn beyond repair this time. However, together, there shall be no obstacles you cannot overcome. No enemy you cannot defeat and no dream you cannot make come true,”

“You both must stay true to yourselves and to your love. The weight of the world is on your shoulders. Should you fail, we will all pay the price for it. But should you succeed, we will all rejoice in what you can accomplish. However, I need you to remember my words. The head cannot survive without the heart and the heart cannot survive without the head. It will take you two to get this done but as long as you’re together, you shall not fail,” Joanna told them, and the couple looked at each other.

“Joanna, Clarke and I seem to be able to communicate with each other with our mind and our feelings. Does that have to be with what you are telling us?” Lexa asked her.

“Yes, it does. As the two of you already passed by the seven stages of the twin flames, you have unlocked the deep connection your souls have. That is just one of them,” Joanna supplied the information for them.

“Is that all or is there anything else we need to know?” Clarke asked the woman.

“For now, that is all. If I see anything else, I will be sure to let you both know,” Joanna said to them so Lexa stood up and along with Clarke, they left the house and went back through the city in the direction of the tower using Lexa’s knowledge of the streets to slip undetected. Once they finally got there, Lexa only had time to formally dress in her Commander clothes before she found herself at the entrance of the tower saying goodbye to the Sky People and the Mountain Men delegation, but especially to Clarke as she watched the woman she loves walk away from her, only comforted by the fact that Clarke will be back.

After they disappear from view, Lexa turned back and entered the elevator by herself and couldn’t help but think how much she hated the view of Clarke leaving her and hoped that soon enough that will no longer be an issue, that she will be able to sleep and wake up with the blonde every day for the rest of her life. That she will always be within reach of Lexa, that they will be able to finally, after so long and after so many obstacles, start their life together. Soon enough, the elevator stopped on her room floor and as Lexa stepped out of it, she felt the hair on her neck stand up and her hand immediately went to her dagger.

The guards, she noticed, were still outside her room and nothing seemed to be any different, but her senses told her that something was not right and the closer she got to her room the more she felt it. But even with that, she said nothing to them and reached for the handle, opening the door, stepping inside her room and as soon as she closed the door behind her, she felt before she saw the dagger flying her way, she quickly raised her own dagger and deflected the other one before standing in fighting position before she heard claps and a voice she recognized perfectly well.

“You were always mindful of your surroundings. I however was not,” The voice said to her as the owner finally made an appearance coming from her balcony, crossing the room and standing in front of her. And as they looked at each other, Lexa finally relaxed her stance before she straightened up and greeted the intruder.

“You never change, do you Luna?”


	73. Nice Surprise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, little note here. In honor of red23111's birthday, there will be a double update.   
> HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR READER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
> Hope you enjoy this few chapters.  
> Comment a lot.  
> Have fun.  
> Kisses, kisses,  
> Your Author.

“Hello, Lexa. And no, I suppose I do not but you? You have changed since the last time we saw each other,” Luna said to her and Lexa chuckled shaking her head, seething back her dagger to the holster before she moved towards the girl as they hugged each other.

“I am glad you are here, my friend. I was afraid you wouldn’t come at such a short notice,” Lexa told her before they pulled back from the hug, looking at each other.

“How could I not? Do you know how hard it was for me, all this time?” Luna said as she moved to sit down on the couch as Lexa undid the buckle on the belt of her coat, taking it off.

“I can only imagine, but we had talked about why it needed to be this way. Why it needed to be now and only now,” Lexa said to her while Luna nodded in understanding.

“Do they know? Have you told them about this?” Luna asked her and Lexa took a deep breath before she went to pour a drink for both of them.

“Have I told Clarke, Kane, Raven and Murphy that you and Emori were triggered to remember everything as soon as I was as well? Absolutely not. They have no idea of the deal Becca made with the three of us and won’t know anything until we go there to Arkadia in two days’ time,” Lexa said smirking at her friend and Luna nodded her head at that, smirking right back at her.

When they were in the Valley and Becca warned Lexa of who Clarke had planned to bring along with her in this crazy journey, she knew immediately that she needed to help the blonde and she had known of the relationship between Murphy and Emori and also whatever was starting to happen between Luna and Raven before everything went wrong, so Becca asked her if she wanted to bring them as well, to have them remember and she immediately said yes. But Becca warned her that they could only be triggered when Lexa herself was so they would have to wait the same amount of time as her for it to happen.

Once they were presented with that choice, they all immediately agreed with it and when they got together to discuss how would things go from there, Lexa had told both girls that they shouldn’t come as soon as they remembered because there would be the battle and that it was better if they waited. Luna was to wait for the summit to happen before she appeared and Emori was to wait until they set out to go search for ALIE’s mansion to destroy her, so as soon as Luna heard about what was happening, she knew it was her time to come and so she did.

“How are you feeling about being back here? Nervous?” Lexa said as she came to the couch and gave one cup to Luna who took it, before she sat down on it besides her friend.

“A little. The way I left things on the other time… I can’t say I am proud of what I did in the conclave,” Luna told her sighing and Lexa nodded as she took a sip of her drink.

“When we were in the valley and here too, Clarke spoke to me about it and I tried my best to explain to her what had driven you to do those things, so that maybe she could have a better understanding of what was on your mind during those moments,” Lexa told her and Luna looked at her before she chuckled.

“I’m not sure what was on my mind back then was anything except pain, anger and disgust. No offense to your Sky Girl but what she was doing in that lab, trying to recreate nightblood was the last straw for me. One, as much as may not seem like it, I still believe in the Faith and to me the way they went about the nightblood was a blasphemy. I may not like the concept of children fighting to the death, but it was still special to me. However, once again, the color of our blood was used for bad things. It seemed to only bring out death and cruelty from people,” Luna said and Lexa nodded her head understanding where the older girl was coming from.

“I agree with you. I know the truth about the Flame. It’s not the Spirit of the Commander, it is tech, but I also believe that it is our faith. Nightblood may have been created in a lab by Becca but what it means to us goes beyond that. And we both know that your problem with what they were doing was because you were also never good at dealing with the darkest parts of yourself Luna, and you especially never forgave yourself for what you did to Liam,” Lexa said and Luna shook her head taking in a deep breath at the mention of his name.

“How could I Lexa? Liam was my brother, my twin brother, we shared our mother’s womb. We were together since then but when we had to fight, I wanted to live so badly even if it meant he had to die, even when it meant I had to kill him. My own brother and I couldn’t give up my life for him. How do you forgive yourself for something like that?” Luna asked her.

“I don’t know. I don’t know how I would have dealt with if I had been forced to kill Madi to survive, but Liam knew what it meant and you know that between the two of you, he would have wanted you to be the one to survive, no matter who killed him, as long as you survived, he would have been happy about it. And I am sure he was more worried for you having to live with you had done than he was about him dying by your hands,” Lexa said to her.

“I know that too but either way, once it was done and he was dead, I thought that if I made the Floukru a place for peace, for people who like me ran from the darkness, from that way of life, that I could honor his sacrifice and that somewhere down the road, I would find forgiveness but I haven’t and I doubt I truly ever will,” Luna told her and Lexa nodded her head.

“I know how that feels. I don’t think I will eve forgive myself for what happened to Costia. She was killed because of me. I may have not delivered the final blow like you did, but if she was in that situation in the first place was because of me and for that I will never forgive myself. She didn’t deserve what happened to her. At all,” Lexa said to her and Luna chuckled.

“We are one hell of a pair, aren’t we? I blame myself for my brother’s death, you blame yourself for your ex-girlfriend’s death,” Luna sadly joked about it while Lexa nodded at that.

“We are both extremely pathetic, that is what we are. Always have been to be honest,” Lexa said and they both chuckled and clinked their cups together at that.

“So how are things going with you and Titus? It must not be easy to be around the person who shot you dead after trying to kill the woman you love simply for the crime of loving you and making him obsolete,” Luna asked her directly in Luna’s style, which was brutal honesty and Lexa sighed as she put her cup down and started undoing her braids.

“It is difficult. I won’t lie. However, it is not as much as I thought it would be. I think that things are better than they were last time, but I still don’t trust him around Clarke which is why I kept her as far away from him as I could. I don’t want to crucify him for something he hasn’t done yet,” Lexa said to her and Luna sighed shaking her hand.

“You were the only one of us who ever liked that man and that was probably because he was only ever nice to you since he always believed you would be Commander,” Luna said to her shrugging her shoulders.

“That is not true. I wasn’t the only one, Devon liked him too and Kieran did as well,” Lexa said to her and Luna shook her head.

“No, those two just treated him nicely thinking that maybe if they did, he would choose one of them to show support to in becoming the next _Heda_ , but he only had eyes for you. Ever since the first week you arrived here, it was like he was knew he was in front of _Heda_ and always acted like it,” Luna said to her and Lexa finished undoing the braids, putting it in a bun.

“Does it make me a bad person if I understand why he did that?” Lexa asked her friend.

“I don’t know what you are talking about. What exactly do you mean?” Luna replied to her.

“From all my novitiates, I can see that the one who has the biggest potential to be Heda is Aden. He is much better in fighting than I was at his age, however he still has too soft of a heart to handle this job. But because I see that potential, sometimes I find myself giving him more attention than the others,” Lexa told the Floukru leader.

“No, it doesn’t make you a bad person. We never resented you for his attention, even because as much as he paid attention to you, our beloved Commander did as well and nobody deserved what that bastard did to you,” Luna said, and Lexa took a deep breath in.

“It wasn’t all bad, actually. Surely, it was a type of phycological torture, but he never got what he wanted out of me. He never managed to break me, much less to make me afraid of him, so when I think about him and what he used to do, I only see someone who was bested by a 7-year-old girl. He was pathetic and the laughingstock among the rest of us. We used to tell horribly funny stories about him, remember?” Lexa said with a smile on her face.

“Yeah, I remember. But I guess my point is that as much as some of us wished that Titus would have shown them with his support, we all knew deep down that he was right to show it to you. We also knew you were meant to be Commander. It was clear as day, which was one of the reasons why I hated the fact that Liam and I were pit against each other. What was the point in killing him if I knew that I wouldn’t be Commander at the end of the day? But we knew we had to fight anyway so we did. And you proved everyone that they were right when you won. I was very proud of you and I know Liam would have been as well,”

“So, I would say that with Aden, you might have a similar situation going on. If he is as good as you say he is and if he has the potential to be _Heda_ as you say he does, the other novitiates know it as well so they probably might feel about him the same way we did about you. And in that case, you have nothing to worry about. Even if you do show favoritism, they surely understand and agree with the reasons why. And if any of them is like Simon or Julie, then they are more than glad for that,” Luna told her friend sincerely.

“I know but the Conclave is one of the things that I wish to change because to be honest with you, a fight to the death does not prove who is the better novitiate to be Commander. It didn’t with me and it didn’t with any of the others before me. If I am a good Commander, the Conclave was the last thing that had something to do with that, so I plan to change it. To make sure that with this new version, we really can see which of them is the best choice, without all the others having to die for it,” Lexa explained to Luna who only smiled at her.

“If anyone can do it, it’s you. And like always, you will have mine and my clan’s support,” She told her and Lexa thanked her for it. “But onto more personal matters, how are you and Clarke handling everything while also trying to be together?”

Lexa sighed. “It’s hard but we have done it. The only people who knows about us are people we trust. Our closest friends. In my case, Gustus, Indra and Anya. I know that once Clarke comes to live here, there will be no hiding it from Titus but for now, I will not be telling him,” Lexa explained, and Luna nodded. “What about you and Raven?”

“I don’t know how she feels about me or about what I did, tried to do, to her friends and her people last time. I don’t know if she will be happy or angry to see me and the wait is agonizing but I can’t wait to see her and try to fix if I broke something,” Luna told her.

“I’m sure everything will work itself out between the two of you,” Lexa said to her friend.

“I hope so, Lexa. I really hope so,” Luna agreed with her and the two friends continued talking about a number of different subjects throughout the night. It had been so many years since the last time they had done this, so they decided to use this moment to catch up with each other’s lives. Both of them bonding over the fact that they both liked a Sky Girl and both of them hoping that this time, they could finally have their happiness without it being taken so brutally from them or not given to them at all.


	74. Traveling Company

It was two days after the Floukru leader’s silent and undetected arrival in their capitol, when Lexa and Luna finally left Polis to go to Arkadia after passing by Mount Weather. First of all, Lexa had to make sure that everything was okay between her people, that nothing was wrong with her Ambassadors and she had to give Titus the appropriate instructions with what she wanted for him to watch out for while she was gone. Once that part was covered and she was satisfied, she then talked with Luna to come up with a plan of action.

They couldn’t leave together because people had no idea Luna was even in the city, given the fact that she hasn’t come in the city for over 8 years. Not after she ran from the Conclave so the older girl had no other choice but to leave the tower using the secret passages she knew, every nightblood knew about some of them, and met up with Lexa halfway through to the Sky People’s camp as they continued on their journey together accompanied by Gustus, Indra, Anya and others that Lexa trusted to keep quiet about the information of Luna’s presence.

Her generals looked at each other as soon as they saw who their travelling companion would be. They knew how close the two girls had always been to each other, since they were little girls. Luna had been one of the first people that Lexa was friends with when she arrived in Polis for her training and they were always very close, always playing together when they could and where one was you could always see the other right by their side. Which is why it wasn’t a surprise when Lexa refused to hunt Luna down after she ran from her conclave. She wanted her friend to be able to build a life for herself and now here they were.

They didn’t know what was going on with the two leaders and nightbloods or what reason could Luna have to finally come out in the open like this, but they also knew it was not their place to question it, they only needed to respect her presence since their Commander wanted her there. The two girls were quite ahead of them, they had wanted their privacy to talk and all the warriors respected that, pulling back enough so that they could do give them that and still protect their Commander if need be. Gustus, Indra and Anya were riding their horses, so they took the opportunity to talk about what they were seeing.

“ **This is quite the surprise, don’t you think? I had no idea they were still talking** **to each other** ,” Anya said to her companions who nodded their heads at her.

“ **Well, I don’t think they ever really stopped. We just didn’t know about it. I personally believe that the messages might have been delivered through the Ambassador who served as a messenger pigeon between them** ,” Gustus told them.

“ **But even so, Luna being here, why is that? What is her deal? Why is she after all these years coming out of that rig to accompany the Commander to the Sky People’s territory of all places?** ” Indra asked them and they shrugged.

“ **I have absolutely no idea, but I know the Commander does. I am sure whatever business Luna thinks she can have with them that Lexa is aware of it or else she wouldn’t have agreed to let her come with us** ,” Anya said to her, and the others nodded.

“ **Speaking of which, how was the dinner after the summit, Indra? Was it okay?** ” Gustus asked the general and the woman took a deep breath.

“ **It was, actually. Oscar, as usual, tried to spread dissent amongst the clan leaders and Ambassadors by reminding everyone of the crimes committed by the previous leaders of the Mountain against our people but the Sky Girl, Clarke, was able to put him in his place and still managed to paint a better picture of that people than I believed it to be possible** ,” Indra said to them who nodded their heads.

“ **She is something else altogether, isn’t she? I think the Sky Girl is exactly the kind of partner the Commander needs going forward. Can you imagine what the two of them can accomplish together?** ” Anya said to them.

“ **Yes, I think we all know they can achieve a lot as long as they are together and soon enough so will Nia know that as well. And once she does, we all know what she is going to try to do again and this time we cannot fail the Commander** ,” Indra said.

“ **You think she will come for Clarke like she did for Costia? Try to hurt her to get to the Commander?** ” Anya asked the older woman who had once been her First, her mentor.

“ **Yes, she will, I have absolutely not a single doubt about that. Like you said, together, they might be a force to be reckoned with and what I do think is that for Clarke, Nia may reserve an even worst destiny than she did for Costia should she get her hands on the girl** ,” Indra said warningly serious to them.

“ **Well, the Sky Girl will be living in the Tower now that she is her people’s Ambassador and will most certainly be sleeping with the Commander in her room, which can make it easier for us to protect both of them. I am sure the Commander will assign a protective guard just for the girl** ,” Gustus said to them and they nodded.

“ **That is good because from what I have seen of the love they have for each other, if losing Costia broke Lexa, losing Clarke will destroy her completely and we cannot let that happen** ,” Anya said to them who nodded their heads.

“ **We won’t** ,” They all agreed and continued their journey in silence, each of them thinking of a way to keep both girls safe and together for a lot depended on it, much more than what they were currently aware of. A few steps ahead, Luna and Lexa rode their horses close to one another as they talked about this trip and what waited for them once they arrived in Arkadia.

“ **How do you think things are going to go? Are you nervous?** ” Lexa asked Luna who took a deep breath as she caressed the horse.

“ **I have no idea. I don’t know how she will react, if she feels the same and I don’t know, I guess I am. What do you think will happen?** ” Luna asked her and Lexa shook her head smiling.

“ **It’s not up to me to say anything. This is most definitely none of my business and something between you two** ,” Lexa said to her and Luna pushed her shoulder as she chuckled at that.

“ **But what I can say is that if nothing else, she will be happy to see you and know you remember her as she was** ,” Lexa told her as Luna nodded thinking about things before sighing.

“ **I don’t know yet if there will be an us though. It may not be a possibility anymore. Isn’t that boy, her boyfriend who died, still alive and back in the picture? I’m assuming Clarke didn’t sleep with him this time** ,” Luna spoke, and Lexa looked at her.

“ **No, she didn’t. And I think that is something that only Raven can tell you about it. However, the same could be said about you and Erik. He is still alive, is he not? Are you still with him or is that part of your life done with?** ” Lexa said asking her and Luna shook her head.

“ **Of course, I am not with him anymore. As soon as I remember, I broke it off with him. I cared about Erik, very much so. You know, he is a great guy and we had a great time together, but I was never in love with him. We were companions and he is someone I care about deeply, a friend but I don’t love him like that, so we are in agreement that everything is okay in that aspect** ,” Luna said to her and Lexa nodded.

“ **I really hope that. She is a nice girl and I don’t want you messing with her feelings. You better know what you want with her or leave her alone altogether** ,” Lexa said seriously to her and Luna smiled at that.

“ **Are you giving me a pep talk, Commander, about Raven? What are you now? Her protector? Her big sister?** ” Luna said jokingly, and they both chuckled.

“ **No, but she is someone I came to respect and Clarke cares about her too. I don’t want you to hurt her or for her to hurt you as well Luna. Don’t worry, she is getting a pep talk too if everything works out between you two,** ” Lexa said to her and Luna smiled.

“ **Are you going to threaten her to hurt her and probably kill her if she hurts me?** ” Luna asked her friend and Lexa simply smiled before nodding.

“ **Of course. As much as I have come to respect Raven, you are my friend. In this case, my loyalty is to you. So, it’s part of my job as such to protect you from heartbreak if I can** ,” Lexa spokea and they both chuckled at that.

“ **Need I reminder you that I am few years older than you and if that is the case, I guess I should probably say something to Clarke as well? After all, there is much more at stake for you, personally and with your work, that Clarke needs to be ready to take on. So, she should probably be made aware that the Luna she saw fighting at the Conclave is nothing compared to the Luna trying to protect her friend,** ” Luna said, and Lexa shook her head.

“ **There is no need for that since Clarke is in this for the long run. However, I can’t say I won’t find it interesting that conversation. What is worse is that you’re not the only one that gets to do that. I’m planning on Clarke meeting my family when they come to visit me and I am sure they will all take some time to have a similar conversation with her,”** Lexa said to her friend who looked at her.

“ **Has she met them yet? I mean, did she meet them last time? Weren’t they supposed to meet with you after the summit? From what I remember, Clarke was in Polis, in your tower up to that point, wasn’t she?** ” Luna asked the Commander.

“ **You’re right. Clarke was there at the time and my family was supposed to come and visit me after the summit, but with what happened with Nia, the Sky People and the massacre, it wasn’t the moment for that. So, I wrote them a note telling them that I would let them know when it was okay for them to come. I had been hoping it could be once Pike had been dealt with, but you know what happened before we managed that, so Clarke never got the chance. She didn’t even know they existed until I told her in the Valley** ,” Lexa told her.

“ **I thought you would have told her way before that, but I guess I can understand why you didn’t** ,” Luna said as Lexa nodded at her friend.

“ **My life and hers got really complicated at that amount of time. I was trying to do the best thing for my people, but although my intentions were good at the time, the execution part of it was where I failed. I know that because this time around, I did things the right way and finally succeeded which is something I can’t stop being grateful for this second chance we are getting. All of us** ,” Lexa said that, and Luna couldn’t help but agree with her friend.

“ **I think so too. But out of curiosity, do you think that your family is going to accept Clarke?** ” Luna asked her.

“ **I think so. Dad always wanted me to find love, even in this life I live. And I think Madi will be more than happy to have Clarke as her sister-in-law** ,” Lexa answered her.

But before they could continue with their conversation, they realized that they had finally arrived at the Skaikru camp. They stopped and looked at the entrance. Both girls started to think about their Sky Girls. Lexa thought about Clarke, she had spent time thinking about what Joanna had told them and she couldn’t be happier to know that the two of them were truly meant to be together. Not that she had any doubt before, but having the confirmation was something she had felt very good about.

As for Luna, she was probably more nervous than Lexa was. Not only was this the first time she would be coming here after she left with Clarke’s mother to go find Becca’s island lab, but it would be the first time she would see Raven again after she had escaped from the lab and gone in the direction of Polis, without having any plans of seeing the mechanic ever again. And now, not only would she get to see her, she would get a chance to reconnect with her, perhaps even deeper than they had before and for that, she was looking forward to.

“ **We’re here, finally. How do you want to do this?** ” Lexa asked the girl who took a deep breath before she pulled her hood up to cover her hair and her face.

“ **Fast, before I lose my nerve** ,” Luna said to her and Lexa smiled before she motioned for everyone to continue on the path and it didn’t take long before they arrived at the gates.


End file.
